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LIBRARV OF CONGRESS. 






UNITED STATES GPAMEKiA. 



Round Cape Horn. 
VOYAGE 



OF THE 



Passenger-Ship James W, Paige, 



From Maine to California in the Year 1852. 



V^ 

"X/' 



BY Jt'LAMSOE 




BANGOE: 
PRESS OF 0. F. & W. H. KXOWLES. 

1 8 7 <S . 






Eiiteretl according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by 

J. LAMSON, 
In the Ottice of the Librarian of Congress, in Washington. 



TO 



«f "^tU&v&^^ummgtxs- 



f 

AS A REMINDER OF MANY PLEASANT SCENES ENJOYED, 

AND MANY ANNOYANCES ENDURED DURING OUR 

VOYAGE, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. 



PREFACE. 



A voyage round Cape Horn in a passenger- 
ship is an event of the past. ' The necessity for 
performing tliis perilous voyage has been obvi- 
ated by the introduction of railroads and steam- 
ships. Emigrants and travelers are no longer 
obliged to risk their lives and waste their time 
in passing round the Stormy Cape in order to 
arrive at a point, which may be reached in a 
week by a pleasant ride across the continent on 
the railroad; and Cape Horn is destined to be- 
come a terra incognita to all but the readers of 
ancient voyages. 

I am not aware that a narrative of a voyage 
of this description has ever been published; and 
the hope that a truthful account of the perils, 
discomforts, and annoyances, as well as the 
pleasures and enjoyments attending it, may 
prove entertaining to the reader, has prompted 



ine to send fortli this little work to meet the 
fate or fortune which an enlightened public may 
award it. 

The scenes and anecdotes recorded at the end 
of the voyage, are given in the hope tliat they 
may possess some slight value as conveying an 
idea — a vague and indistinct one, perhaps — 
of some of the characteristics and habits of a 
portion of the people of California in early 
times. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Description of the Bark — She sets Sail — Uiicomfortahle Situation — 
Specimen of our Discomforts — A Squall — Escape from a Water- 
spout — Approach to the Cape Verde Islands — Religious Services 
A School of Porpoises — A Dutch Vessel — A Flying-fish — Annoy- 
ances — Bad Cooking — A Praciical Joke — Tropic of Cancer 13 



CHAPTER II. 

Consultations about Cape Verde Islands — Flying-fish — English 
Steamer — Tropical Showers — Disappointment — Capture of a Por- 
poise — May-Day at Sea — An English Bark — Letters for Home — 
Another Bark — Nautical Ceremonies— An Aquatic Bird— Crossing 
the Equator— Squalls— A Portuguese Brig— Captain J. engages to 
stop at Rio Janeiro — Land Seen — Cape Frio — Approach to Rio 
Janeiro — Beautiful Scenery — Disappointment 21 



CHAPTER III. 

A Mistake Discovered and Corrected- 111 Health — Sceneiy of the 
Coast and Harbor of Rio Janeiro — We cast Anchor — Going Ashore 
Rambles in the City — Fountains — Markets — Parrots— Hammer- 
headed Sharks— Monkeys— Slaves — Tropical Trees— Visit to a 
Hotel — English Gentlemen — Public Gardens 29 



CHAPTER IV. 

Visit to the Botanical Garden— Description of the garden— Dinner 
at the Hotel— Third Visit to the City — Impudence of the First 
Mate— Village of San Domingo— A Wallc in the Country— At- 
tacked by Dogs — Beautiful Plantations— Civility of a Planter — 
Elegant Mansion and Grounds — A Retreat — A fine Road— Return 
to the Ship — Supply of Fruit— The North America— Mr. Kent, 
our Consul 36 



CHAPTER V. 

Weigh Anchor— Civility of the People of Rio— Temperance— An 
Altercation— Cold Weather— Cape Pigeons- Large Bird— Our 
Kitchen Establishment— Stewards and Cooks — Scouse— Inspec- 
tion of Cooks' Galley— A Joke— A Squall— An Alter<;ation — 
Captain J. and Mrs. L 1— Cape Pigeons— Oranges 46 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Disagreeable Scene — Scarcity of Oil — Lamps and Slush — An 
Albatross— 111 Manners of the Mate— Cold Weather— The Whiffle- 
tree Watch— Disagreeable Scene— Magellan Clouds and Southern 
Cross — An act of Kindness — Turnovers and Sport — Tierra del 
Fuego and Staten Land— A Perilous Passage— Ducks and Cape 
Pigeons— A Squall — A Black Albatross — Cape Horn— Stormy 
Weather— A Gale — Accident at the Breakfast Table 54 



CHAPTER Vn. 

Severe Cold— Furious Storm — Diego Ramirez Islands — Land Ahead 
—Cape Horn Weather— Two Vessels— Length of Days and 
Nights— Disagreeable Brawl— Heading North— Patagonia— The 



i) 

Andes— Another Storm— Anxiety of Captain J.— A Lunar Kain- 
bovv-Another Gale-Bill of Fare-Filthy Cooks and Impure 
Water po 

Oo 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Captain Jackson-A Drifting Spar-Approaching Talcahuana- 
Washnig-day— Landscapes— Harbor of Talcahuana-Pelicans— 
A Visit from Officials-Description of the Town-American 
Houses- Tremont House— A Dinner 72 



CHAPTER IX. 

Character of the Inhabitants-Agricultural Implements-Lassoino- 
Cattle-Poncho- A Covered Wagon-Wild Doves- An Earth^. 
quake-An Excursion-Dogs, Women, Children, and Shells-A 
Scotchman and his Wine-An Adventure and the Calaboose- 
A Chilian Musket Fished up-An Affecting Incident-Fruit 
Market-Leave Talcahuana-An Explanation - Theft in the 

Cooks' Galley-Disinterested Advice-Uneasiness of Mrs. L t 

and Captain J 

by) 



CHAPTER X. 

Keligious Services-A Beautiful Bird-Departure of Cape Pigeons 
and Albatrosses -Stormy Petrels -Amusements -Harmony 

among the Passengers-Mrs. L 1 and her Child-Violence of 

Captain J.-Our Chaplain turns Poet-Captain J.'s rest disturbed 
by the Passengers-He threatens to blow them through-Sugar- 
Petty Annoyances-A Rag Baby-Our Chaplain and his Revolver 
-Change of Weather-Uncomfortable Condition of the Main 
Cabin-Theft of Raisins-Ship's Stores-Gross Negligence- 
Great Waste of Scouse 90 



10 

CHAPTER XL 

\n Arbitrary Prohibition-Card Tlaying and Checker Tlaying- 
^ Dancing -Treachery of Mr. Johnson -Some Passengers-A 
"al Character/and a Pugnacious Character-A Beauty 
Bird-Closing the Ilatches-A Question of Junsdiction-The 
Hatches Re-opened - A Sudden Transformation -Neglected 
Duties of the Chaplain-IIis Influence with the C aptam 99 

CHAPTER Xn. 

Head Winds-Thc Dusky Albatross-Tacking Ship-Fishing for 
Birds-Amusement of the Mate and Passengers-A Poet-Fair 
Winds-A Porpoisc-A Fight in the Main Cabin-My Journal- 
Opinions of Mr. Johnson-Meeting in the Main Cabin-Schools 
of Porpoises — Narrow Escape from Shipwreck— An Acn ot 

. 107 

Charity • . 



CHAPTER Xni. 

Whales-Sunshine-The Pacific Ocean and Tom Moore-Wormy 
Bread and Impure Water-A Pilot-Arrival in the Harbor of San 
Franci==co-The City-Dismantled Ships-My last AHsit to the 
Bark-Statement and Counter Statement-Angry Bemonstrance 
Mr. Spring and his two Journals-Final Adieu to the James ^N^ 
Paige 



California Scenes. 

121 
Scenes in Sacramento ^^^ 

Cattle Stealing in Contra Costa ^ ^-^ 

Felling Trees in the Pvedwoods *• ^-^ 

Solitude 



11 



A Collector of Natural Curiositle? 130 

A rail- of Kattlesnakes 133 

A Queer Fellow 135 

A Sandwich Island Woman and her Yankee Husband 137 

A Party 130 

Indians and Their Costumes 145 

The Yosemite Falls 148 

The Domes 149 

Farewell to the Yosemite 151 

The California Vulture 152 

My Skill at Rifle Shooting 154 

Incident at a Camp-meeting 155 




12 

Officers, Passengers and Crew 

OF THE 

BARK JAMES W. PAIQE. 



Joseph Jackson, Master; Horace Atwood, First Mate; Dudley P. 
•Gardner, Second Mate; E. S. Blake, E. P. Holden, Stephen Walker, 
W. B. Webber, Cyrus E. Gould, Michael Cashman, John Tobin, 
Hiram Draper, Michael Feeney, M. V. Wall, W. Grant, Philip Keen, 
George Pieynolds, Tim Scannell, Ithiel Gordon, Willard Heatb, 
Elisha Osgood, G. A. Brown, J. S. Brown, Geo. L. Pierce, Leonard 
Stinsou, S. H. Bachelder, J. F. Dolliff, Joel D. Thompson, Eben 
Toothaker, J. S. Russell, H. Whitney, Geo. A. Emery, Stephen 
Pierce, A. F. Johnson, William Shaw. Stover Clark, J Wentwortb, 
G. French, W. Marshall, L. Sherman, Alfred Fletcher, G. E. Morton, 
E. F. Starr, S. H. Sanger, James Carlo w, W. Spring, M. Sawtelle, 
D. Worster, Ivory Matthews, Rev. John Johnson, S. P. Lawrence 

Hodsdon, William Lamson, Horace McKoy, Charles Hollom , 

Samuel Murray, J. Lamson, Jonathan Tyler, Thomas Ladd, Noah 
Andrews, L. Wakeman, J. Colborn, Wm. Smith, O. E. Smith, John 
Day, Thos. Foster, John Magrath, W. Footman, J. Jackson, James 
Concord, T. W. Dolliff, David Tlnney, J. T. Bickford, B. D. Mor- 
rill, J. Montgomery, Stillman Sawyer, J. C. Pullen, S. Kelley, Mrs. 
Draper, Mrs. Grant, Miss J. Spaulding, Mrs. H. G. Brown, Mrs. S. 
J. Brown and Daughter, Miss M. L. Brown, Mrs. J. P. Lawrence, 
Mrs. L 1 and Daughter. 



ROUND CAPE HORN 




CHAPTER I 



Description of the Bark— She sets sail— Uncomfortable situation— Specimen 
of our discomforts — A squall — Escape from a Waterspout — Approach to the 
Cape Verde Islands— Religious sendees- A school of porpoises— A Dutch vessel 
A flying-tish — Annoyances— Bad cooking — A practical joke — Tropic of Can- 



>he Bark James W. Paige of 240 tons burthen, 
was fitted up for a passenger ship in the latter 
part of the winter of 1852, by James Dunning 
and Joseph Nicker son of Bangor, Maine. A portion of 
the hold was made into a cabin with fourteen double 
berths on each side. Fifty-two passengers occupied this 
room. A small house with berths for fourteen passengers 
and a state-room for the captain was built over the cabin, 
and enclosed the companion-way or stairs leading down 
to the cabin. This cabin was called the after cabin, to dis- 
tinguish it from the room in the hold, which was named 
the forward or main cabin; and the house was called the 
after house. Another house was constructed over the 
main cabin, in which lodged the mate and four or five 
passengers. The after cabin was appropriated to the 
ladies, though singularly enough, the Kev. Mr. Johnson, 
who, we were told, had been employed to officiate as our 
chaplain, was assigned a berth in this cabin, much to the 
annoyance of a portion of the ladies. The sailors occu- 
pied the forecastle. The cook's galley, a very important 
part of the ship's appointments, was placed between the 



14 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

two houses. These houses did not occupy the whole 
width of the deck, but a narrow space was left for a walk 
round them. There was also a small open space between 
the cook's galley and the after house, and at the ends of 
the houses. 

Our bark, though owned in Bangor, lay at Frankfort, 
twelve miles below the city, where she was fitted up, in 
consequence of the river being closed by the ice at that 
season of the year, down to the latter town. Many delays 
occurred before all our preparations were made, but at 
last all was ready, and we dropped down the river to 
Prospect, where we took on board our last passenger, and 
on the third day of April, 1852, we bade adieu to the ice 
and snow of Maine, and wuth a heavy gale of wind were 
soon driven out to sea. 

We were fortunate in the beginning of our voyage in 
having strong and fair gales of wind, which drove us 
rapidl}^ on our course; but we had at the same time much 
wet, drizzling weather, which soon enabled us to discover 
that our ship was an old and leaky thing, and that our 
houses, though new, had been so carelessly constructed, 
that the water came in freely upon us, whetting our berths, 
and rendering our situation exceedingly uncomfortable. 
Add to this the fact that our ship, being in ballast, rolled 
so badly that we could not stand for a moment without 
clinging with both hands to our berths or some other fix- 
ture for sui)port, and that nearly all of us were suffering 
severely with seasickness, and I think it will not be diffi- 
cult to convince the reader that our condition was far 
from agreeable. 

The following may serve as a specimen of our discom- 
forts: I lay in my berth in the after house — on the 
second night of our voyage, — suffering from intolerable 
nausea nnd cq-ially intolerable thirst. The vessel rolled 



I 



A SQUALL. 15 

^dolently; the rain was dropping from the leaky roof into 
my face and on my bedclothes. The i^assengers were 
running to and fro in much confusion, and the voice of 
the captain was loudly heard in giving orders to the sail- 
ors, who were sent aloft to take in sail, for a squall had 
struck us. The trunks in our cabin were dashing from 
side to side, breaking chairs and stools and whatever else 
came in their way. The earthern ware in the lockers was 
sli^Dping about and crashing up in a style that threatened 
its speedy demolition. All was noise and confusion. The 
winds whistled, howled and screamed, the sails flapped, 
the waves dashed against the sides of the vessel and over 
the decks, keeping a stream of water running back and 
forth as we rolled and pitched, and tossed over the seas. 
An unlucky wave, higher than the rest, stove a boat that 
hung at the davits, and added greatly to the confusion 
and apprehension which pervaded the ship. The storm, 
though with frequent lulls, continued for several days. 
During one night the trunks and chests in the main cabin 
were tumbled about so furiously, that they beat down the 
stairs. A barrel of pork was upset, and the brine, dash- 
ing across the floor, so frightened a poor fellow, who 
thought the vessel had sprung a leak, that he scrambled 
up into our house, and sat up all night. 

A day or two after this I heard, as I lay in my berth, 
an unusual commotion on deck, and the captain was giv- 
ing orders in a loud voice and a quick and hurried man- 
ner. In a few moments I learned that we had but just 
barely escaped a waterspout, which had passed within less 
than the ship's length to the leeward of us. Sick as I was, 
I deeply regretted that I was not uj) to see it. I may 
never have another opportunity to witness such a phenom- 
enon. 



16 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

Sunday, I8//1 April Latitude 29°, 25' N. Longitude 
29° 71' W. from Greenwich. We have reached a warmer 
and more comfortable cHmate. We have exchanged the 
cold stormy blasts, the wintry winds of Maine, for mild 
and gentle breezes and a warm sun, and we feel a sense of 
comfort in the change that is exceedingly exhilaratmg. I 
have nearly recovered from seasickness, from which I be- 
lieve no other passenger has suffered so severely, but it 
leaves me much enfeebled. We are approaching the Cape 
Verde Islands, which we hope to see in the course of three 

or four days. .1^1 r\ 

We have had religious services on deck to-day. Uur 
chaplain gave us a sensible written discourse, which was 
listened to with attention. We had good singmg, and 
the services were conducted with a degree of propriety 
that would have afforded an excellent example for imita- 
tion by some of the congregations I have seen m our 

churches. 

Soon after the close of the services our company was 
enlivened by the sight of a school of porpoises; and 
Sherman, one of the passengers who had made several 
voyages, made an attempt to capture one of them. Tak- 
ing a harpoon to which a long line was attached, he 
dropped into the chains under the bowsprit, and watched 
for the porpoises as they came plunging swiftly through 
the water beneath him. It required no small degree of 
BkiU and dexterity to strike them. There he stood looking 
intently into the water with his harpoon raised, when 
suddenly a group of the animals came within striking dis- 
tance. In an instant he thrust his weapon into one of 
them, and the line was pulled in by men who were sta- 
tioned on deck for the purpose. The fish was brought to 
the surface, but in his struggles he broke away from the 
harpoon and escaped, and in a few moments the whole 



A DUTCH VESSEL. 17 

school, as if warned of their danger, had disappeared. 
We have not a great variety of amusements on board our 
vessel, and such a circumstance as this serv^es to infuse a 
good deal of life into us. A school of porpoises, a few 
stray sea birds, and a distant sail constitute nearly all we 
have to relieve the monotony of our voyage. Up to this 
time we have spoken but one vessel. I lay in my berth 
one night dreaming pleasantly of friends at home, when 
I was awakened by the hoarse voice of our captain hail- 
ing a bark that was at that moment passing. She was a 
Dutch vessel homeward bound. The Dutch captain had 
some difficulty in understanding ours, and asked three 
times where we were bound, though answered each time 
very distinctly " Cal-i-for-ny." 

April 19. This morning the mate found a flying-fish. 
It had flown in during the night, probably in attempting 
to escape the dolphin, which is its greatest enemy. It 
was about ten inches in length, with fins five or six inches, 
which serve as wings in the short flights it makes over 
the water. Some of our men saw a large turtle floating 
by us. It had a voyage of several hundred miles to make 
before it could reach land. 

We are not without many annoyances, and one very 
serious one arises from the bad cooking of our food, and 
often from want of a sufficient quantity of it. Our cooks 
are excessively filthy, and it requires a strong stomach to 
enable one to swallow the messes they set before us. 
Many complaints have been made x>i this state of things 
to the captain, and to-day we have presented him with a 
written protest signed by every man in our room, but 
without effecting any improvement. 

Time passes irksomely with many of our passengers, 
and they often resort to odd expedients in order to wear 
away the weary hours. When other sources of amuse- 



18 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

ment fail, they sometimes find enjoyment in playing prac- 
tical jokes on each other. We had an instance of this 
sort of recreation to-day. A ship was seen to windward 
in the morning, and standing in the same direction with 
us. Some one of the party pronounced her a pirate. 
This was found to operate on the fears of one of the pas- 
sengers, a simple, honest, credulous fellow, who beheved 
others to be as honest as himself, and a grand froHc was 
arranged to come off at night at his expense. It was there- 
fore reported that the pirate, though she had fallen several 
miles astern, had sent a boat to board us, and accordingly 
several of the men armed themselves with their rifles and re- 
volvers, and prepared to defend the ship. Several barrels 
were thrown overboard in the dark to represent the piratical 
boat, and these were fired at as they floated by the ship. 
Then came a man tumbling and rolhng about with terri- 
ble groans and yells, pretending to be wounded, and a 
moment after a cry went through the ship that the pirates 
were boarding us. The poor fellow for whose benefit all 
this hubbub was gotten up, was at that moment passing 
by my berth, and I heard him responding to the cry — 
"They are boarding us, they are boarding us! where's a 
handspike?" and he ran and unshipped a pump handle 
in an instant, and hastened to the spot where the supposed 
attack was made, determined to make a desperate defence. 
That he would have fought bravely had there been occa- 
sion for it, no one had a doubt, while it was suspected that 
some of his persecutors would have preferred retreating 
to fighting under any circumstances. The cracking of the 
rifles and revolvers, and the uproar all over the ship, 
awoke the captain, who got up in no very amiable mood, 
but he soon got into the humor of the frolic, and laughed 
as heartily as any of them. 



SAILING IN THE TORRID ZONE. 19 

April 21. Our longitude to-day at noon was 23° W., 
latitude 23° 50' N. We were then twenty-one miles from 
the Tropic of Cancer. It is now sunset. We have passed 
the tropic, and are now sailing in the torrid zone. It is 
an epoch in my life. I have talked with several of my 
fellow passengers about it, but they see nothing to interest 
them in the circumstance. This tropic is not a thing to 
be seen — there is nothing tangible in it. And as for the 
torrid zone, they do not perceive any very great differ- 
ence between that and the temperate zone we have just 
left. I am now sitting at the stern of the ship, enjoying 
a mild soft sea breeze and a beautiful twilight. We often 
have richer sunsets in Maine, and the twilight continues 
much longer; but there is here, while it continues, a soft- 
ness and a delicate blending of the different tints of pur- 
ple, azure and gold, which we do not always see in our 
northern latitudes. Our men are lying or sitting about 
the decks and upon the houses, many in groups engaged 
in conversation, some of them spinning long yarns, and 
others listening to an interesting song wherein is related 
the history of " a beautiful fair maid of high degree with 
black hair and milk white cheeks, and her galliant lovyer," 
while here and there may be seen one quietly communing 
with his own thoughts, which the friends he has left three 
thousand miles distant suggest to him. 

The ladies at the beginning of the voyage were confined 
a large portion of the time to their cabin by sickness. But 
since their recovery they spend many hours on deck every 
fair day; and as they are under the necessity of going 
through our room in passing to and from their cabin, we 
are in a fair way of becoming acquainted with them. 

April 22. We are now but three hundred and fifty 
miles distant from the coast of Africa, and about five 
hundred miles north of the Cape Verde Islands. We 



20 



ROUND CAPE HORN. 



have sailed sharp on the wind during several days, hoping 
each day to fall in with the north-east trade-winds that are 
to waft us to the coast of South America. But we have 
not been so fortunate as to find the trades, and this morn- 
ing we have but little wind in any direction. The sea, 
though rolling in long undulations, is very smooth, and 
the sails are flapping idly against the masts. 




CHAPTER II. 

Consultations about Cape Verde Islands — Flying-fish — English steamer — 
Tropical Showers — Disappointment— Capture of a Porpoise — May Day at 
sea — An English bark — Letters for home — Another bark — Nautical ceremo- 
nies — An Aquatic bird — Crossing the Equator — Squalls — A Portuguese brig 
Captain J. engages to stop at Rio Janeiro —Land seen — Cape Frio — Approach 
to Rio Janeiro — Beautiful scenery — Disappointment. 

have had several consultations with the captain on 
the subject of touching at the Cape Verde Islands; 
)and as his chief objection, aside from one or two 
days' loss of time, is the port charges, the passengers 
have obviated that objection by subscribing an amount 
much greater than will be necessary to pay those charges, 
besides engaging to assist in getting some pure water on 
board, of which we are in great want. I am very desirous 
of seeing something, however small, of a tropical country, 
and of the trees, birds, and other productions of a tropical 
climate; and this may be my only opportunity. Above 
all I long for a short respite, if only for a day, from this 
confinement to the vessel, and for a little exercise upon 
the land before we continue our long voyage to the coast 
of South America. 

April 24. Saw the flight of a school of flying-fish. 
They rush through the air with great rapidity, and gen- 
erally — those that I have seen, — against the wind. They 
look very prettily as they skim over the water a little 
above its surface, and follow the undulations of the waves 
a distance varying from five to twenty rods. Towards 
night a large English steamer with four masts and all sails 
set, was seen on our starboard bow, and continued in 
sight nearly two hours. 



22 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

This afternoon we had a slight specimen of a tropical 
shower. Some dark clouds suddenly arose, and before 
the heavens were half covered, they broke upon us in a 
heavy shower accompanied by thunder, that drove us all 
under shelter. It passed away however as quickly as it 
arose. 

We had this day been sailing with a fair breeze, and 
hoped by to-morrow to be anchored in one of the harbors 
of the Cape Verde Islands. We were much elated at the 
prospect, and it had been the chief topic of conversation 
for two or three days. Judge then of my disappointment 
when I learned at night that the captain had ordered the 
helmsman to put the bark off to the south-west, the direc- 
tion of the islands being south. He had determined to 
avoid the islands, and we had no other alternative but to 
submit. After sailing south-west about four hours in order 
to give the islands a wide berth, our course was again 
changed to the south. We turned into our berths with 
no very amiable feeling towards Capt. J., who, we thought, 
manifested very little regard for the welfare or comfort of 
his passengers. 

Sunday, April 25. We are passing the Cape Verde 
Islands without even the gratification of looking at them. 
But we have now got the trade-wind in earnest, and are 
driving before it at the rate of ten or eleven knots. We 
have seen several schools of flying-fish to-day, and two of 
them have been picked up on the deck by the sailors. 
This afternoon a large school of porpoises came playing 
round the ship, and one of them was struck with the har- 
poon by Sherman, our sailor passenger, and secured. It 
was about five feet long, and weighed, probably, two hun- 
dred pounds. 

Monday, April 26. Some portions of the porpoise killed 
yesterday were served up to-day for dinner. The liver 



MAY-DAY AT SEA. 23 

was said to be very good, resembling that of a cow; but 
the flesh, though relished by some of the passengers, was 
black, and had rather a strong flavor. I did not taste of 
either of them. 

Saturday, May 1. May-day at sea. We rose as usual 
this morning,took our breakfast, and talked of May-day at 
home, and of the friends we had left there, and seeing in 
fancy the youthful jDortion of them setting out on a 
shivering ramble in pursuit of a few flowers or leaves 
through the mud and snow, while we strove to shelter 
ourselves from the heat of a tropical sun under an awning 
of a large sail, which we raised over the after house, where 
we sat, lay or walked, and read, talked and sung, during 
the day. Towards evening I sat for an hour — and it is 
an indolent pleasure I often indulge in — observing the 
sky and the clouds, and watching their slow and some- 
times almost imperceptible changes of shape and hue, 
and in comparing them with the sunset skies of our north- 
ern climes, which, if wanting something of the ethereal 
softness of this, are more glowing, more brilliant, and 
more decidedly beautiful. 

Sunday, May 2. This morning a sail was seen on our 
larboard tack, but the wind being light, we did not speak 
her till night. We watched her till after sunset, when her 
mate boarded us, and reported her to be an English bark 
bound for Liverpool. We had been writing letters all 
day, hoping this vessel would prove to be an American 
homeward bound. We were somewhat disappointed, but 
as we might not soon have an opportunity of sending 
more directly, we decided to send our package, contain- 
ing forty-five letters, by the bark to England, thence to 
be forwarded by steamer to America. 

Monday, May 3. Spoke another bark, the Fanny Major, 
for which I had prepared another letter, but she was 



24 ROUND GAPE HORN. 

found to be outward-bound, from New- York to the same 
port with us, and having on board sixtj'-five passengers. 
Our vessel proved to be the best sailor. We had been 
sailing on different tacks, and she was half a mile astern 
of us, when our captain backed sail and let her come up. 
Just at this time a squall arose, and she soon ranged 
along-side, and in a few minutes passed by us. The cap- 
tains hailed each other through their speaking-trumpets, 
asking what port they sailed from, where bound, how 
long out, what ports they intended to touch at, what was 
the longitude by the reckoning of each, &c. After the 
bark had passed us we set our sails, and soon overhauled 
her. The captains had a few more words, when the pas- 
sengers and crew of the New-Yorker gave us three hearty 
cheers, which we answered with an equal number, then 
three more from the New-Yorker answered by one from 
us, and our military band, consisting of a drum and a fife, 
set up a lively air, when we speedily shot by, and left her 
to follow in our w^ake. 

At night we had a visit from a large aquatic bird. After 
flying around the ship for some time, she alighted on the 
jib-boom, and was captured by Sherman. I was very 
desirous of preserving the skin of this bird, which differed 
from any of those described by Audubon or Wilson, and 
was probably not a visitor to the United States; but our 
captain, who is a man of contracted views, and is deeply 
tinctured with a sailor's whims and superstitions, ordered 
it to be set at liberty under the pretense of sympathy. 

Tuesdaij, 3Iay 4. We have for a week past been drift- 
ing, — I can hardly say sailing, for the winds have been 
light, and we have made but little progress, — towards the 
Equator, and to-day we have crossed that important 
geographical line, and passed into another hemisphere. 
The event has been celebrated with a good deal of hilarity 






CBOSSING THE EQUATOR. 25 

and nonsense. Old Neptune appeared on board rigged 
out with an immense wig of Manilla cordage, a grotesque 
mask, red flannel drawers, and a buffalo coat, and holding 
the captain's speaking-trumpet in his hand. He was ac- 
companied by his wife, personated by a thin, slender and 
active fellow, arrayed in a long gown and a straw" bonnet. 
They amused us with a dance to the music of a fiddle, 
and in return they were treated with some brandy, of 
which they partook with great gusto. Neptune enquired 
into the affairs of the ship, cautioned the stewards and 
cooks to do their duty, gave some wholesome advice to the 
officers, to whom he was formally introduced, cracked a 
good many jokes upon the- passengers, and disappeared. 
The frolic went off wdth great good humor among all par- 
ties. 

Wednesday, May 12. We have had many squalls ac- 
companied with rain for several daj's past. Last night 
a pretty heavy one struck us, sending down a torrent of 
rain, which leaked into our berths and houses. Many of 
us got well drenched. Feeling rather uncomfortable from 
the wet, I arose and stood up by the side of my berth, 
holding on to it for support, while the ship rolled violently. 
But I soon grew tired of this. So feeling over my bed in 
the dark, and finding a comparatively dry place at the foot 
of it, I changed my pillow to that end, and turned in again. 
Lulled to rest by the howling of the wind, the dashing of 
the seas, the rushing of several pailfuls of water over the 
floor of our room, the hoarse orders of the captain and 
the answers of the sailors, I slept till morning. 

Friday, May 14. Spoke a Portuguese brig bound to 
Rio Janeiro. Her decks were crowded wdth men and 
women migrating to the New World. I thought there 
must have been more than a hundred of them in a vessel 
not more than two-thirds as large as ours. 



26 BOUND CAPE HORN. 

Saturday, May 15. "We are now distant about four 
hundred miles from Rio Janeiro, and have strong hopes 
that we shall touch there, though it was the original in- 
tention of Captain Jackson to stop at Saint Catherine's, 
nearly three hundred miles further south. He is strongly 
prejudiced against Eio, having lost a brother and three 
men, besides being dangerously ill himself of yellow fever 
contracted there on a former visit. Then the port charges 
are higher at Rio than at St. Catherine's. This objection, 
however, the passengers propose to obviate by paying fifty 
dollars; and so the captain engages to put in to Rio if he 
can ascertain from outward-bound vessels that the place 
is free from yellow fever. And none of us wish to go 
there if it is not, though our eagerness to step on land 
once more would induce many of us to incur some little 
risk. St. Catherine's is a small island, containing only a 
few unimportant villages and towns; and it is said, that in 
consequence of the riotous conduct of many Americans 
who have put in there, the authorities prohibit a greater 
number than eight persons landing from any vessel at one 
time. This would be an uncomfortable, not to say insup- 
portable, state of things for a company of eighty-eight 
men, women and children, weary of the voyage, and crazy 
to set foot again on land. 

Wednesday, Jlfay 19. This is the forty-sixth day of our 
voyage, during forty-five of which we have not seen land. 
To-day the cry of land has resounded through the ship, 
with not quite the joy and enthusiasm to us, perhaps, that 
the same words gave to Columbus and his companions on 
the discovery of America, but certainly with a good deal 
of satisfaction. I have just seen it, two hills on Cape Frio, 
which we are fast approaching. This cape is sixty miles 
from Rio, where we hope to arrive early to-morrow, though 



APPROACHING RIO JANEIRO. 27 

we are still iu great suspense and uncertainty about stop- 
ping there at all. 

Thursday, 3Iay 20. We passed Cape Frio in the night, 
and are now, early in the morning, approaching the har- 
bor of Kio. "We are now but a few miles distant from the 
entrance to the harbor. There it lies before us. There 
lie the hills along the coast in almost every variety of 
form, some with a gradual rise to their summits, others 
bold and almost perpendicular; some smooth and rounded, 
others abrupt and jagged, and still others conical, and 
sharply pointed. There, in the distance, are the mountains, 
between which and us is the city, towards which all our 
thoughts, wishes and desires so anxiously tend. There 
lies a beach, upon which the surf is breaking in long, white 
swells; and there are the trees upon the sides and sum- 
mits of the hills. What a world of new and curious ob- 
jects we are about to behold ! What a variety of trees 
and other plants and flowers and fruits ! What grand 
and beautiful scenery ! and what an endless variety of 
curiosities, natural and artificial, in this, to us, new city in 
a new world ! 

But are we not to be disappointed at last? Even now, 
when we are almost within view of the city, circumstances 
begin to wear a suspicious aspect. No vessel is to be seen 
coming from the harbor, from which we can obtain infor- 
mation with i-egard to the health of the city, and our cap- 
tain keeps a respectful distance from the coast, as though 
he feared to meet one. True, he keeps up a show of going 
in, by keeping off and on, but he begins to talk of losing 
his labor and time, and we perceive that he has already 
dropped half a dozen miles to the leeward of the harbor. 
We watch his every motion, and listen to every word with 
deep anxiety. But he does not keep us long in suspense. 
A hurried breakfast, of which I did not 2:)artake, is scarcely 



28 



ROUND CAPE HORN. 



passed, -^hen the order is given, "square away the yards," 
and in an instant all our visions of Rio Janeiro have van- 
ished. We bid farewell to the city without seeing it, 
and to the tropics, without setting foot on their lands, and 
with but one indistinct glimpse of the beautiful scenery 
within their bounds. 




S;?*^^^-- 



i 




•^ 



CHAPTER III. 

A Mistake Discovered and Corrected— 111 Health — Scenery of the Coast and 
Harbor of Rio Janeiro — We cast Anchor — Going Ashore — Rambles in the 
City — Fountains — Markets — Parrots— Hammer-headed Sharks — Monkeys- 
Slaves — Tropical Trees — Visit to a Hotel — English Gentlemen — Public Gar- 
dens. 

NE o'clock P. M, We had just settled down into a 
sullen resignation to our fate, and some of the p)as- 
sengers had been trying to amfise themselves by 
making unsuccessful shots at the large sea birds that were 
flying around us, when a discovery was made which caused 
great excitement among us, and raised our spirits to a high 
degree. ^Ye had floated along several hours at a short dis- 
tance from the coast, when one of the passengers who 
had bieen in Eio saw that we were now off the entrance to 
the harbor, and that the captain was wrong in the morn- 
ing. Captain J., who was in his berth, was called imme- 
diately, and acknowledged his mistake. He then engaged 
again to go in on the conditions previously stipulated. So 
the ship is turned towards the harbor, where we shall 
probably arrive in the evening. The money has been 
collected and paid over. I cannot, however, but feel very 
anxious as to the event. My health has been seriously 
declining for several weeks, and my fellow-passengers 
have more than once discussed the probability of my be- 
coming food for the fishes before the ship arrives at the 
end of her long voyage. I feel that I must have a short 
respite on shore or die. But I will not croak about it. 
We shall know the worst to-morrow. Let me go out and 
enjoy the splendid scenery that lies before us. 



30 BOUND CAPE HOBN. 

And such scenery ! I am gazing upon it witli sensa- 
tions as indescribable as the scenery itself. Never before 
have I so felt the utter impotency of language. I might 
say it is beautiful, grand, magnificent, rich beyond 
any thing I ever saw or imagined. I might lavish upon 
it every epithet which my delighted senses could suggest, 
but no words that I can command can, by any possibility, 
convey the least idea of the strangely enchanting beauty 
of the harbor we are entering, I have seated myself upon 
the bowsprit, and as we sail slowly in impelled by a gentle 
breeze, I have ample opportunity to feast my eyes on the 
beautiful scene. Let me give you a short prosaic account 
of it. If I fail to convey to the reader the impression 
which the scene makes on me, I may at least fix it the 
more indelibly on my own mind. 

An ocean of hills and mountains presents itself on either 
side of the bay. Here at the entrance on the left, rises an 
immense rock in the form of a sugar-loaf, to the height, 
perhaps, of six hundred or eight hundred feet. Beyond, 
in close proximity, are a hundred other hills, many of 
them conical, some running up into sharp pinnacles, some 
nearly bare of vegetation, and others less steep covered 
to their summits with a dense foliage. And there is one 
towering above the rest, presenting to the view a black 
and perpendicular front, and a pinnacle scarcely larger 
than the spire of a church. The opposite side of the 
harbor presents nearly the same characteristic scenery, 
sharp, conical hills and rocks rising abruptly from the 
bay, succeeded by other hills thickly p)lanted behind and 
bey(»nd them. The shores of the bay are formed into 
jnany broad, circular indentations, fringed with beaches 
of fine white sand. A large fort mounting a hundred 
guns, and commanding the entrance to the harbor, stands 
on a projecting rock overlooked by a mountain from thej 



GOING ASHORE. 31 

summit of which — though I know nothing of the science 
of fortifications — I fancy that a small battery might be 
planted that would quickly demolish it. A smaller fort 
or battery stands opposite on a small island near the sugar- 
loaf. Other forts defend the inner portions of the har- 
bor. Many fine buildings stand upon the left shore at the 
foot of the hills, and form almost a continuous street for 
several miles to the city. Far in the distance, and but 
dimly descried, are the Brazilian Mountains. Though 
greatly superior in height to the hills on the coast, the 
same peculiarities of cones and pinnacles characterize 
them. 

We passed the fort, and dropj)ed anchor at a distance 
of two miles from the city. Near us lay the North America, 
a large ship from New York bound for California with 
nearly five hundred passengers. They gave us twice three 
hearty cheers, which we answered in the usual manner. 

Immediately on coming to anchor, we were visited by 
a health officer and a custom-house officer, each of whom 
was dispatched with a very few words. Captain Jackson 
then took a boat manned by two sailors, and went ashore, 
and we made every preparation for an early visit in the 
morning. 

Fj'iday, May\21. About twenty boats were along-side 
this morning manned by whites and blacks, masters and 
slaves, all clamorous for passengers. They were unanimous 
in asking twenty-five cents for a passage, which, though 
not very exorbitant, they soon reduced to ten cents, and 
we speedily filled their boats. 

The first thing that attracted my attention as we neared 
the shore, was the singular appearance of the roofs of 
many of the^buildings, which I ascertained were covered 
with tiles. As few of my readers have ever seen a roof 
covered in this manner, I am induced to describe it. The 



32 ROUND CAFE HORN. 

tiles are pieces of pottery in the form of half a tube seven 
or eight inches in diameter, half or three-quarters of an 
inch thick, and about two feet long. They are unglazed, 
and burnt as hard as our pottery. They are supported 
by a rough frame-work of poles, and laid in two courses, 
the under course forming gutters to carry off the rain, 
which is turned into them by the upper course, each up- 
per tile being turned over the edges of two of the under 
ones. The roof projects sixteen or eighteen inches over 
the street, and the under side of the projections or eaves 
is generally painted red. These roofs, of course, answer 
a good purpose here, but in New England, where boys 
throw stones, they would not last a fortnight. Nor would 
they, in my opinion, endure the frosts of our winters for 
a single month. 

We landed and proceeded immediately to a restaurant, 
where we refreshed ourselves with a cup of coffee and a 
plate of toast, and then commenced our rambles over the 
city. I soon found myself separated from my companions 
and proceeded alone. I crossed a large square, in which 
stood a stone fountain built in the form of a temple, from 
whose sides the water fell into basins beneath. These 
fountains, though built in different styles, I found in great 
numbers throughout the city. They are supplied by an 
aqueduct. 

Passing through a street containing several handsome 
churches and other public buildings, I found myself in 
the market. This, I believe, was square, surrounded Jby 
high walls against which within were shops or stalls con- 
taining a great variety of articles of food, vegetable and an- 
imal. The square was also crossed by several streets or walks 
with stalls on each side of them. A fountain with a very large 
basin occupied the center. My first search was for fruits. 
I found oranges and bananas in abundance, and these 



I 



SEEING THE CITY. 33 

with cocoa-nuts constitute all the market affords at this 
season of the year. There were neither watermelons nor 
musk-melons, no apples, nor pears, nor peaches, no plums 
of any description, nor a berry of any sort. There were 
no dead meats to be found in this market. Beef was sold 
in another part of the city. Live i^igs had their appro- 
13riate stalls, and chickens, turkeys, and several varieties 
of ducks and of doves, besides many singing birds, were 
kept in coarse cages or chained by the leg. Parrots were 
abundant, and there was a large and exceedingly beautiful 
bird, whose name I did not know; but I was rather desir- 
ous of buying one for the purpose of preserving the skin, 
I asked the price. It was thirtj' milreas — about sixteen 
or seventeen dollars. I did not purchase. There was a 
great variety of fish, some very beautiful, and others the 
most disgusting specimens I ever beheld. Among them 
w^ere several hammer-headed sharks, a curious fish from 
three to five feet long, with a head twelve or fifteen inches 
long, attached to the body like a hammer to the handle. 
An eye is placed at each extremity of the hammer, but 
the mouth is below it in the body of the fish. There were 
monkeys enough to make up a menagerie, the greater part 
of them being of one species with long, prehensile tails. 
In the center of the square, surrounding the fountain, 
was a variety of vegetables sold by slaves, male and female, 
who kept such continual talking, laughing and singing as 
I never hep.rd before. It seemed as though they were 
enjoying a holiday, and w^ere in their happiest humor. 

I did not stop long in the market, but continuing my 
walk, I threaded several narrow streets and passages to 
the summit of a hill, where I found a gate opening into 
grounds belonging to a large hotel. I entered, and for 
the first time found myself in the shade of tropical trees. 
I was delighted with the scene. Every tree, shrub, vine, 



34 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

and flower, were new to me. I knew not the name of a 
single j^lant. Tlie sun was beating down intensely, and I 
was glad to seat myself upon an embankment under the 
shade of a row of large trees. Several little birds were 
singing in the branches, only one of which I knew, a wren, 
though of a different species from any of ours, and smaller, 
but possessing the same lively, restless, noisy characteris- 
tics. A long shaded walk led to the hotel. I had not sat 
there long when I saw a company of my fellow-passengers 
approaching. They had just left the hotel, but giving me 
a gentle hint to treat them, they returned to the house, and 
I followed. We entered at the rear of the house and we 
passed through to the front, which afforded a splendid 
view of the harbor. A little garden on the very verge of 
the steep hill was filled with a variety of strange flowers 
and plants, and an arbor with seats occupied one end of 
it. Standing here, one could look upon the beach at the 
foot of the hill, and listen to the roar of the waves as they 
rolled over the hard white sand. My companions having 
become pretty mellow, sung t\vo or three of their senti- 
mental songs, and departed, leaving me to enjoy a very 
pleasant interview with two young English gentlemen, 
who gave me some information respecting the city, and 
advised me to visit the Botanical Garden, situated at a dis- 
tance of six or eight miles in the country. 

In the afternoon I walked to the Public Garden. This 
is a large garden, surrounded by a high stone wall, and 
laid out in triangular plats, each filled with beautiful 
trees and shrubs, and protected by an iron fence. The 
ground was perfectly level and the walks broad and 
smooth. At one extremity were two small ponds bor- 
dered by rough stones, and surrounded with benches of 
hewn granite. From the center of each pond arose a 
triaugular column of hewn stone, consisting of a pedestal 



!l 



THE Pin LLC GARDEN. . 35 

about eight}' feet broad and as many high, and a shaft 
about forty feet high terminating in a sharp point; and 
from the sides of the pedestals streams of water issued 
into the basins or ponds. A broad walk passes between 
these fountains, at the extremity of which is an orna- 
mented stone basin elevated several feet above the ground. 
From the end of this basin rises a mound of rough stones 
piled up against a very handsome wall, and covered with 
a variety of cactuses and other plants. At the foot of the 
mound two enormous alligators lie entwined, from whose 
gaping mouths, streams of water flow into the basin. A 
flight of stone steps ascend from each side of the fount- 
ain to a terrace thirty feet broad, and extending the width 
of the garden. This terrace is paved with tessellated 
marble, and protected by parapet walls, whose sides are 
covered with porcelain. Two octagonal buildings stand 
at the extremities of the terrace, each angle of which is 
crowned with a porcelain vase containing plants, as is also 
every post in the parapet walls. The waves of the bay 
dash against the base of the terrace, and their roar is 
heard in the garden. 

I found but few people here, and no one who could talk 
with me. There were arbors shaded with vines and trees, 
and supplied with stone seats and tables, where I sat and 
made my memoranda. I returned to the landing by dif- 
ferent streets from those through which I came, seeing 
many new things — every thing I have seen here is new and 
strange — and am heartily gratified with my first day in Rio. 
I found several of the passengers ready to return on 
board the bark, where we passed the night. 



CHAPTEK IV. 

Visit to the Botanical Garden — Description of the Garden — Dinner at the 
Hotel — Third Visit to the City— Impudence of the First Mate — Village of 
San Domingo — A Walk in the Country — Attacked by Dogs — Beautiful Plan- 
tations — Civility of a Planter— Elegant Mansion and Grounds — A Retreat— 
A Fine Koad — Return to the Ship— Supply of Fruit- The North America — 
Mr. Kent, our Consul. 

fATURDA r, May 22. Our friends, the boatmen, were 
out betimes, and took us to the city early in the 
morning. AYe had arranged a large party of ladies 
and gentlemen to visit the Botanical Garden, of which we 
had heard many glowing accounts besides those given me 
by the young English gentlemen yesterday. To convey 
our party we hired three carriages, each drawn by two 
mules, and driven by a man who spoke a little, a very 
little English, and drove through the streets near the 
shore of the bay for a distance of three miles or more, 
when we turned into the country and followed a road 
that wound around the base of several hills and mount- 
ains, one of which I have already spoken of as seen from 
the bark. It ran up into a sharp, perpendicular peak, as 
near as I could judge about fifteen hundred feet high. 
And this mountain I am told is often ascended by tourists, 
who reach its highest point on horseback. The scenery 
through which we passed was truly magnificent, and'many 
of the houses and gardens were rich and beautiful. We 
stopped at a hotel near the garden, whence we walked to 
the garden accompanied by a very agreeable young man, 
a Hungarian, who spoke pretty good English, and who 
made himself very useful in giving us the English names of 
many of the trees and shrubs. The first object that met 



I 



A WALK IN THE GARDEN. 37 

our view — and to me it was one of the greatest attractions 
of the garden — was two rows of palm trees planted on 
the edges of a broad and elevated walk, passing through 
the center of the garden. The trunks of these palms 
were of a stone gray or ash color, and showed a slight 
circular ridge or mark at intervals of three or four inches, 
where they had been encircled by the footstalks of leaves, 
which had fallen off as the trees increased in height. 
They were perfectly round, and symmetrical, and to my 
inexperienced eye they seemed to have been turned in a 
lathe, or chiseled by a sculptor. They rose to the height 
of thirty or forty feet, and were crowned with a great tuft 
of long leaves. The effect on looking through this long 
vista of trees was j^eculiar and striking, and I could 
scarcely resist the impression that they were the work of 
art, pillars of stone crowned with artificial foliage. Near 
this walk w^e saw several plats of the China tea-plant. I 
did not learn any thing as to its productiveness. 

We passed rapidly through a great many walks, and 
saw groves of a large variety of trees, in all which I 
felt a peculiar interest, such as the cinnamon, nutmeg, 
sage, camphor, bread-fruit, tamarind, cocoa-nut, orange, 
lemon and banyan trees, and thickets of bamboo and 
swamps of bananas, besides a multitude of beautiful trees, 
shrubs and flowers, whose names wo did not learn. In the 
center of the garden, and dividing the palm-tree walk, 
which I have described, into two equal parts, is a fine 
fountain bordered with and surrounded by a profusion of 
rich flowers. A little farther on we found a pretty brook 
running over a hard bed of sand and thickly shaded with 
bananas. It was just sequestered and wild enough to re- 
mind me of home and the many brooks of pure water, in 
which I had so often slaked my thirst in my frequent 
rambles in the wild woods of Maine. I was glad to find 



38 ROUND GAPE HORN. 

something, if only a brook, in this world of novelties, that 
might, perhaps, have its counteri:>art in my own country. 
But more than this, there was a little grove of cedars, 
which, we were told, had been imported from the United 
* States. 

I was deeply interested in the bread-fruit tree with its 
large half grown fruit, and its great, shining, deep green 
leaves. It has had a sort of romantic attraction for me 
ever since I read of it in early childhood in the voyages 
of Captain Cook. The tamarind also is very attractive, 
and with its broad spreading branches and brilliant fo- 
liage, is one of the most beautiful trees within the tropics. 
The banana is an annual plant, growing to the height of 
twelve or fifteen feet, with immensely long leaves from 
eighteen inches to two feet wide. It bears an immense 
cluster of fruit, sometimes several hundreds in number, 
each about six inches long. The pulp of the banana is 
covered with a thick skin, which is easily detached. I do 
not know what other fruit to compare it with. I found it 
of a very pleasant flavor when eaten with sugar and wine, 
as we eat musk-melons, though its flavor is far inferior to 
that of the musk-melon. 

After satisfying our curiosity with the beauties of the 
garden, we returned to the hotel in season for dinner. 
And as I shall, in all probability, never partake of another 
Brazilian dinner, I am tempted to give a short account of 
this. The company at the table consisted solely of our 
own party, and the young Hungarian. AYe sat down to 
a long table not less than six feet wide, which we found a 
very inconvenient width. There were sixteen or seventeen 
of us. We had a small turkey roasted with the feet, but 
without stuffing; neat's tongue fried in oil or something 
else that rendered it extremely unpalatable; fried ham 
and eggs, strong and unpleasant; fried fish, green peas. 



BRAZILIAN DINNER. 39 

utterly tasteless; potatoes, very small and fried in oil, and 
lettuce. The food was placed on the table, and we were 
left to help ourselves, which the great width of the table 
rendered very inconvenient. The carving of the turkey 
devolved upon me. The gentlemen watched the operation 
with deep interest, and had the mortification of seeing 
the whole of it distributed among the ladies. Turkey 
being out of the question with them, they turned their 
attention to the other dishes, of which they partook with 
such appetites as might be expected after a six weeks' 
voyage at sea. The first and principal course was speed- 
ily disposed of. The table was cleared away, and then 
came the second course or dessert, which consisted of two 
small omelets or tarts, which I thought were very good; 
two small loaves of sponge cake, ditto; and bananas, 
oranges and walnuts, of all which we left not a vestige. 

The dinner passed off very pleasantly, and the bill was 
settled with some little trouble, in which we had to call 
in the assistance of our friend, the Hungarian, as none of 
us understood Portuguese, and the landlord was equally 
ignorant of English. Each article was charged sepa- 
rately, and the long list of items and their prices required 
a pretty familiar acquaintance with compound addition 
and with Brazilian currency, to bring the sum to a satis- 
factory footing. The excursion proved to be one of great 
enjoyment to us, and we returned to the city and to the 
ship, highly delighted with the day's adventure. 

May 23. We had been notified that a missionary from 
the city would preach on board our ship to-day, and the 
ladies and some of the gentlemen stopped to hear him. 
But many of us could not resist the inclination to spend 
on shore the very short time of our stay at Eio, and we 
resolved to take an early start for the city. As we were 
about leaving the ship, the first mate, whose name is 



40 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

Atwood, an ignorant, uncouth sailor, undertook to stop 
UR by a very winning exhortation, which he wound up by 
calliug us a damned pack of fellows with no more man- 
ners than the heathen. I replied that Mr. Atwood was 
thd last man in the world to whom I should go to learn 
good manners, and then went on board the boat. 

We found, as we expected, the stores open in the city, 
and business transacted as it is in all Catholic countries 
on the Sabbath. I went into several churches, where I 
found but few worshipers, but they were continually com- 
ing and going, and their individual devotions occupied 
but a small portion of time. Some of the passengers 
found amusement in a cock fight. Others went to the 
public garden, where they found a great concourse of 
people, that being a place of much resort on Sundays. As 
I had resolved to take a walk into the country on the op- 
j)Osite side of the harbor, I invited two young men, T. 
Ladd and B. D. Morrill, to accompany me. We crossed 
the bay in a steam ferry-boat to the village of San Do- 
mingo. This village is built around one of the indenta- 
tions, which form a prominent feature in this harbor. The 
principal street stretches more than a mile in a circular 
form around the bay, and is built upon only one side, the 
houses all overlooking the water, which washes a broad 
beach of fine white sand. Double rows of trees are planted 
on the street next the beach, and thickly planted trees and 
shrubbery form a deep shade around each dwelliug. 

We took one of the principal roads, and walked into 
the country, going wherever curiosity or fancy directed, 
a hundred roads diverging to the right and left as we ad- 
vanced. We passed many houses and plantations as we 
wound around the hills, and we stopped frequently to rest 
us and to examine the plants and the gardens, that in- 
vited our notice. At one place we saw a gang of slaves 



A WALK IN THE COUNTRY. 41 

drilling into a quarry on the side of a hill for the purpose 
of procuring stone for building. The sun was beating 
down upon the rock with great intensity, and none but 
those half naked Africans could have endured the heat. 
Their shining backs glistened in the sun, like polished 
ebony. At another place we saw two slaves chained to- 
gether, and digging in the earth in that condition. They 
had, perhaps, been guilty of insubordination or some 
other crime against their lawful masters ! 

Our first attempt to visit a plantation was unsuccessful. 
It was a pretty place, the house was a new and handsome 
one, the grounds looked inviting, and the gate was open. 
We entered, but had proceeded only a few steps when we 
were met by two large dogs destitute of hair but not. of 
teeth, who not only disputed our further progress, but 
seemed disposed to take vengeance on us for our intrusion. 
We were not inclined to parley with them, but commenced 
an immediate retreat, when a slave, w^ho happened to be 
near, came forward and called off the dogs. At the same 
moment the master of the house, a surly looking old fel- 
low, hearing the uproar, came out from the house, and 
instead of inviting us in like a gentleman, as he was in 
duty bound, only directed us by signs to another house, 
where we thought he intended to intimate, we should meet 
with a more hospitable reception. And in this he was right. A 
lai-ge and elegant mansion stood near the road. The gate 
was open, and w^e passed through, though rather hesita- 
tingly. A negro met us with many smiles, conducted us 
over the grounds, broke off as many oranges from the 
branches of the trees as we wanted to eat and carry away, 
permitted me to cut an orange twig for a walking-stick, 
and showed us half a dozen very fine cows, which my 
companions pronounced fully equal to, and very much 
resembling, our best cows in Maine. A few small coins 



42 BOUND CAPE HORN. 

rewarded his civility, and we continued our walk. A little 
distance further brought us to a small village. We sat. 
down to rest us for a few minutes upon some stone steps 
in front of a store connected with a handsome dwelling- 
house. As we were about to continue our rambles we met 
a gentleman at the gateway, who saluted us in English, 
and invited us to sit in the shade. He talked with us of 
a hundred things in a few minutes. He had once resided 
in Virginia, and expressed himself in terms of high admira- 
tion of the government of the United States, and of un- 
qualified disgust of the Eoman Catholic religion, which 
was the bane of Brazil. He invited us to walk over his 
grounds, and as we declined eating oranges, he directed a 
slave to cut us some stalks of sugar-cane, the juice of 
which is very refreshing to a thirsty traveler. He directed 
our attention to a little naked " nigger baby," which lay 
sprawled out upon the ground, and which he said he was 
raising with no other motive than that of pure charity, 
for the animal would not half repay the cost of rearing it. 
Thanking him for his hospitality, we took leave, when he 
gave us a hearty shake of the hand, and wished us a suc- 
cessful voyage. 

A little further on we saw an elegant mansion situated 
about half way up the side of a steep hill, and overlook- 
ing a considerable extent of country. It was a delightful 
situation, and its owner was the proprietor of a coffee 
plantation on the other side of the road and in front of 
his house. A number of blacks were at this time occu- 
pied in preparing the coffee for market. 

The gateway to the grounds consisted of a square build- 
ing perhaps twenty feet high. I opened the gate and 
went in. A walk leading to the house wound to the right, 
tllrough thickets of trees up the acclivity, in the steepest 
portions of which were placed flights of broad stone steps. 



ii 



PLANTATIONS AND SLAVES. 43 

Another walk diverged to the left, and was soon lost to 
the view in groves of oranges, lemons, tamarinds, and 
other tropical trees. Many new and beautiful plants w^ere 
to be seen around the house, and every thing displayed 
beauty, elegance, and taste. I looked round for a few 
moments, but seeing no one on the grounds, I left the 
place. 

On our return we took another road, and passed many 
places whose scenery deeply interested us. At one plan- 
tation we met, as usual, a smiling slave, who conducted 
us through the walks of a beautiful garden. Another 
slave, a female, soon appeared with a long stick prepared 
at one end like a fork to break oranges from the branches; 
and we were getting along very pleasantly, walking in the 
shade of orange, bread-fruit, tamarind, and other trees, 
many of which we did not know, when suddenly w^e saw" 
a large party of blacks, male and female, in one of the 
distant walks, and saw' a great commotion among them. 
My curiosity was excited to see the frolic, which I thought 
might have been an African dance or a fandango. But 
Morrill, who perceived a strong smell of rum in the breath 
of our dark cicerone, and thinking the distant scene bore 
a greater resemblance to an Irish riot, beat a precipitate 
retreat, and I followed, sorry to lose so good an oppor- 
tunity for learning something of the amusements of those 
slaves. 

Continuing our walk, we came to the bay, where we 
found a new road winding in one place around the base of 
huge, perpendicular precipices, from every interstice of 
which hung a variety of cactuses, vines and shrubs, while 
lofty palms threw up their leaf-crowned shafts from the 
earth below. 

The road we had found was new, hard, perfectly smooth, 
and was decidedly the best highway I ever saw. It led 



44 BOUND CAPE HOBN. 

direct to the town of San Domingo, almost a mile dis- 
tant from tlie point at which we had landed, and where 
we sj^eedily arrived. Recrossing the bay, we purchased 
a few necessaries at Rio, and returned to the ship. We 
found our bark the scene of much noise and confusion, 
arrising from the drunkenness of several of the passen- 
gers, who had just returned, having spent the day in 
drinking on shore. One man had become so outrageously 
violent and crazy, that the second mate, who had command 
of the ship at this time, — the captain and first mate being 
both absent, — was obliged to secure him by tying his 
hands. 

May 24. We had laid in many things necessary for our 
comfort during the continuance of our voyage, among 
which were a large lot of oranges, and some bananas and 
cocoa-nuts. This morning, just as were about to sail, two 
boats laden wdth oranges came along-side the ship, and 
though v/e thought we had a pretty good supply of fruit, 
we bought both cargoes, amounting to about two thou- 
sand. They cost us from forty to sixty cents a hundred. 

The North America left the harbor two days before us. 
We did not visit her though she lay at anchor almost wdthin 
speaking distance of us. A regulation of the port pro- 
hibits the passengers and crews passing from one ship to 
another. It may have been a fortunate regulation for us, 
for we had many reports of the yellow fever being in the 
ship. This disease had raged very fatally in the city, but 
was beginning to subside, though we were told it was 
still rife. 

Mr. Kent, our consul at Rio at this time, had removed 
with his family into the country, where he found a more 
salubrious climate than the city afforded. This was a 
disappointment to several of the passengers, Avho were 
personally acquainted wdth him, and had anticipated 



OUR CONSUL AT RIO. 



45 



much pleasure in meeting him in this distant land. Mr. 
Kent is said to be very popular at Rio, and the interest 
he takes in the oppressed seamen, and the kindness and hu- 
manity he manifests towards them, have done him much 
credit. 





CHAPTER V. 

Weigh Anchor— Civility of People of Rio — Temperance — An Altercation — 
Cold Weather — Cape Pigeons — Large Bird — Our Kitchen Establishment — 
Stewards and Cooks — Scouse — Inspection of Cooks' Galley — A Joke — A 
Squall— An Altercation —Captain J. and Mrs, L 1— Cape Pigeons— Oranges. 

^E did not weigh anchor until 2 p. m. As we were 
beating out of the harbor, we met the Poiiugaiese 
biig, wliich we had spoken on the fouiieenth 
instant, coming m. After getting out and passing the hght- 
house and the islands, we squared away and stood on our 
course ^\ith a fau* and moderate breeze. 

We were now much improved in health, and all the hard- 
ships, privations, annoyances, and disappointments of the 
former pai"t of oui' voyage were forgotten. We were now 
supphed with a rich fund of new and interesting subjects 
for conversation, we looked foi'ward to a speed}^ and pros- 
perous passage round Cape Horn, and we were m the very 
best of spu-its. We had seen Rio Janeiro. 

I had, as the reader may well suppose, but shght oj)por- 
tunity to acquu'e a knowledge of the institutions of the 
country, or the mamiers and customs of its uihabitants 
during my very shoi*t stay in Rio, and will not insult the 
reader with a long essay on subjects of which I know 
nothing. But I noticed a few traits in their character, vdih 
which I was much pleased. I found them very kind, jDohte 
and hospitable. In all my walks through the city, which 
I generally took alone, I did not meet ^\dth an instance of 
inideness or incivility. It was the same whether I was 
crowding through the market or other pubHc places, which 



I 



SOLDIERS IN RIO. 47 

were thronged by multitudes of people of aU classes and com- 
plexions, white, bro^\-n and black, or threading the sohtary 
and narrow streets and crooked by-lanes which, in many 
cities, would seem to offer every facility and inducement 
iox the safe perpetration of deeds of \doleuce. I one day 
passed some barracks, where several companies of soldiers 
were diilhng. The gate was open, but guarded by a sol- 
dier. I stopped and looked in. "Passa," said the sentinel, 
and I walked in, saw the evolutions of the soldiers on diill,' 
and passed through several groups of others off duty.' 
Every tlimg was conducted without disorder, and I was as 
secure fL-om any msult or annoyance as I should have been 
in the midst of a party of fiiends at home. There were 
many dark complexions among them, and I thought that 
quite haK of them, officers as well as privates, were black. 
There are a great many restaurants, cafes, and other 
di-inking estabhshments in Rio, and one would expect to 
see a great amount of intemperance among the people; 
and yet the only instances of dimnkenness I saw there 
were those which occurred among the passengers and crew 
of our bark. 

May 25. Our latitude to-day is 24° 45' south, longitude 
44° west. We have passed the Tropic of Cai:»ricom, and 
are sailmg in the southern temperate zone. 

May 28. I have had an unpleasant altercation with Capt. 
Jackson to-day. The occasion was this: Some pretty 
bu-ds— Cape Pigeons — have been flying round the ship, 
and as I was desii-ous of preserving one or two specimens 
of their skins, one of the passengers caught one with a 
hook and hne for me. As ]\Ii\ Johnson was desii'ous of 
showing it to the ladies in the cabm, I let him take it. 
When he retui-ned it, he brought an order to me from the 
captam, who was then in the cabin, to tlu-ow the bii-d over- 
board. I resisted the order. The parson pleaded for the 



48 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

life of the bii-cl as though it was a matter of the utmost 
consequence. I told him I had procured the bii'd for the 
pm-pose of presenting the skin, and I knew of no reason 
why I should not do it. In a few minutes the dkeful deed 
was done, and the body of the mui'dered bhd lay stretched 
upon the deck skinless. The captain came up in gTeat 
wrath, and a warm discussion ensued, during which he de- 
clared his fixed determination to protect the bhds, and 
forbade the killing of another one during the voyage. I 
told him I was aware that he had the power to enforce his 
order, and that I should be obhged to submit, but I pro- 
tested against it as an infiingement of my rights, and an , 
unjustifiable exercise of arbitrary power. I hinted to him 
that he had better bestow a httle of his compassion upon 
his passenger, and told him that I had ah*eady suffered 
more from bad food, filthy water and want of pro^^er noui'- 
ishment diu-ing my sickness on this voyage, than all the 
bu'ds I wished to kill would suffer by then* deaths. So we 
pai'ted, and in less than an houi- my fi-iends caught me an- 
other bu-d, which I skinned and preserved. 

Jane 1. Winter is upon us. At least it is fast approach- 
ing, this being the first winter month in this hemisphere. 
It is not to be expected that we shall find very cold weather 
in this low latitude — 34° 28' — but for some time joast the 
cold has been sensibly mcreasing. We have left the sun 
fai' to the norih, that is, in our position on the globe, we 
see it at the north instead of the south, as it appeal's to us 
on the other side of the equator. He has thrown down 
his rays vertically upon us as he passed, di-awing the melt- 
ing pitch fi'om the seams of the ship, and filling the cabins 
^\ith an msupportable heat. The North Star has long since 
disappeared, and the Great Bear and other constellations 
with which we are, or ought to be, famihar, have settled 
down m the north, and new constellations have taken then- 



STEWARDS AND COOKS 49 

places. The awning, which we had placed over our house, 
as a protection from the heat, has been removed. The 
passengers no longer lodge there, and their beds have been 
returned to their berths. A fair wind is driving us onward, 
and a few da3's tn^II find us in the regions of storms, snows, 
and perhaps of icebergs. May our second winter in 1852 
prove a shoii: and fortunate one. A week has elapsed since 
we left Rio, om- company are generally in good health, and 
our fears of an attack of yellow fever have vanished. 

We are attended by multitudes of Cape Pigeons, which 
are so gentle and unsuspicious of danger, that they alight 
on the water du-ectly under our stern. There are other 
bu'ds mth them,, but none so tame. A large bii*d about 
the size of a goose was caught with a baited hook by a 
passenger, who obtained permission fr-om our humane cap- 
tain to hook up the bii-d on condition that he should set it 
at hbei'ty again. To-day for the first time I have seen an 
albatross. 

June 2. There have been some important changes made 
in oui' cooking department. I have afready hinted that we 
have suffered severely fr-om the wretched preparation of our 
food. The cooks are filthy in the extreme, and exceed- 
ingly careless. But before I proceed, let me describe our 
kitchen estabhshment. The duty of the first steward is to 
keep the ship's stores, and deal them out to the cooks. He 
also kneads up the bread, or "soft- tack," as it is called m 
contradistinction to the ship-bread, which is called "hard- 
tack." "We have thi'ee other stewards or waiters, two for 
the main cabin, and one for our room in the after house. 
Oui* stewards also take their meals to the mates, who have 
a small room in the forward house. There is also a stew- 
ardess for the ladies' cabin. Two cooks prepare the food 
and dehver it to the stewards, who have charge of the 
tables in thefr respective cabins. 



50 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

One day tlie cliief steward, while kneading his bread 
saw a diiiy hen escape from her cage; and lea^dng his 
dough, he caught the hen, restored her to the cage, and 
retm-ned to his dough with an accumulation of material 
upon his hands, which it was far from agreeable to witness, 
and which diminished the demand for soft tack very 
essentially. Little things of this sort were of every day 
occuiTence. Messes of filthy trash were often set before 
us, which the most hungry among us could not swaUow. 
We had a mess called "scouse," made up of a mixture of 
all the scraps of the salt beef and pork left of oui* dinner, 
and broken pieces of ship-bread boiled together. This 
was sei-ved up repeatedly; but the pans of scouse were so 
often sent back full to the cooks' galley, that they desisted 
for several weeks fr'om forcing it upon us. But this morn- 
ing they made another attempt, doubtless by the captain's 
order, and added to the mess by wa}' of improvement 
several condiments, which we had not before discovered, 
such as bits of orange peel and cheese and mirahile dictu ! 
of tobacco. "We called the captain, and requested him to 
inspect the pan of scouse. He looked at it and passed on 
without any remark. He was met at the door b}' a depu- 
tation from the main cabin, beaiing another pan of the 
delectable mixtui-e. The captain by this time began to 
think that the matter was assuming rather a serious aspect, 
and he condescended to order an insi)ection of the cooks' 
galley, when the mischief was traced to an old fellow by 
the name of Draper, who was in the habit of di'\ing his 
quids on a sheK du-ectly over the boiler, Mr. Draper was 
accordingly degraded from the post of cook, and another 
gentleman appointed in his place. The passengers testi- 
fied their satisfaction at this aiTangement by three heaiiy 
cheers. 



CAPE PIGEONS. 51 

Some of our wags played off a joke on the chief steward 
by tapping the heels of his boots in the night T\ith some 
ver}^ heavy cakes which he had made. He complained of the 
indignity to the second mate, who advised him to give his 
taps a fan- trial, for in his opinion the bread would prove 
an excellent substitute for leather. 

June 3. Last night we had a smart gale, which drove 
us forward at the rate of t^v^elve knots; and this morning 
we were threatened with one of those squalls that often 
occur in the ^'icinity of the mouth of the Eio de la Plata, 
which we have just passed. The sky was overcast with 
dai'k clouds that were often illuminated with biilliant 
flashes of hghtning. All hands were called and most of 
the sails furled. The squaU burst upon us in a fine shower 
of rain, but the whid proved only a pleasant breeze, that 
helped up to make up a good day's reckoning. 

June 6. There has been an unpleasant altercation on 
this holy Sabbath between our worthy captain, (who, by the 
way, is a religious man and a member of a church,) and 
some of his lady passengers. The quarrel oiiginated at 
the tune of our visit at Rio. For several weeks prior to 
this visit, he had been very lavish of his attentions to Mrs. 

L 1, who had been ill dming the voyage to Rio, and 

seemed to require a great deal of brandy and bitters, 
wine and gruel, and herb drinks. The captain was very 

assiduous in supplying the wants of Mrs. L 1, and his 

assiduities cei-tainly entitled him to her warmest gratitude. 
But his intercourse with Mrs. L— — t did not consist solely 
in administering drinks and doses. Among other httle 
manifestations of friendhness, they united theii' foiiunes 
in the purchase of a ticket in a lottery, which one of the 
passengers made of an article of jewehy. They drew the 
prize, and the captain became sole owner of the bauble by 
purchasing Mrs. L t's share. Matters continued in 



52 BOUND GAPE HORN. 

this friendly way between them, till we arrived at Rio. 
Here, after inquii-ing into the health of the city, he cau- 
tioned his passengers against stopping on shore at night 
where they would be Hable to take the yellow fever. The 

next morning he accompanied Mrs. L 1 on shore, where 

they tarried day and night imtil the afternoon previous to 
om- sailing. As a matter of coui'se this, together with 
theu' pre\ious intimacy, was a subject of much remark and 
some spoii among the passengers. Their jokes reached 
Captain Jackson's eai's and em-aged him. He declared 
that there should be a stop put to the talk. The passen- 
gers thought otherwise. A smaii Httle quarrel grew out 
of it, the women took it in hand, and nourished it, and to- 
day a discussion remarkable for its warmth and length, 

took place between Caj)t. J. and Mrs. L 1 on one side, 

and Miss Juha S g on the other. The battle raged till 

the middle of the afternoon, when the captain left in a very 
wrathful frame of mind to join in arehgious sendee on deck, 
and to worship the God of peace and purity. Capt J. has 
a wife in Maine and Mrs. L 1 a husband in San Fran- 
cisco. 

June 8. Latitude 47° 6', longitude 59° 8'. We have 
cold weather, strong ^\inds, squalls, snow, hail and rain. 
Great numbers of sea bh'ds, chiefly Cape Pigeons, follow 
the ship. They bite very readily at a hook baited -^^ith pork, 
and are easily caught. They are pretty birds, and fly with 
gi'eat ease and gracefuhiess, and their ^^ings seem never to 
tire. They ahght on the water, on which they swim with 
great agihty, and I have seen them dive several feet into 
the water in pm-suit of food that had been thrown to them 
from the ship. There is considerable difference both in 
the size and color of these bh'ds, and perhaps a skillful 
ornithologist might detennine them to consist of several 
species, though I am inclined to consider them as varieties 



1 



ORANGES. 53 

of the same species. One of the passengers caught two 
of them for me, but owing to cold weather and a shght 
seasickness at this time, I lost them. 

June 10. Caught two more Cape Pigeons, and it being 
cold on deck, I was glad to accept the invitation fi-om some 
of the passengers in the main cabin to skin the bii'ds there. 
Their beaks were of a deHcate hght ash or lead color, and 
theii' breasts white. There were some dark spots on the 
wings. They were seventeen inches long, and forty-two 
and a half inches in the stretch of theu' wings. Two spot- 
ted ones, whose skins I have preserved, are smaller, being 
only thiiiy-four inches in alar extent. 

Oui- oranges have nearly disappeared. Having been 
kept in close boxes and chests, they have decayed very 
rapidly. 1 have found them very beneficial to my health, 
and should be glad to keep them till we arrive at the next 
poi-t, but they will be used up before we reach Cape Horn. 





CHAPTER VI. 

A Disagreeable Scene — Scarcity of Oil — Lamps and Slush — An Albatross. 
Ill Manners of the Mate — Cold Weather — The Whiffletree Watch —Disagree- 
able Scene — Magellan Clouds and Southern Cross — An Act of Kindness — 
Turnovers and Sport — Tierra del Fuego and Staten Land— A Perilous Passage. 
Ducks and Cape Pigeons — A Squall — A Black Albatross — Cape Horn — 
Stormy Weather — A Gale — Accident at the Breakfast Table. 

NE of those disagreeable scenes, which are of too 
fi-equent occuiTence among us, came off this morn- 
ing. Captain J. without any ceremony or consul- 
tation with the passengers, ordered the cooks to supply us 
with but two meals a day. This would not have been very 
serious!}' objected to, had we been fiu-nished mth any de- 
cent food in place of the vile trash, upon which we have 
been forced to subsist. But after waiting till half past 
eight, the time appomted for breakfast under this new 
regulation, behold! a pan of scause is placed before us! 
And this was to suffice until two or thi*ee in the afternoon. 
Some of us could not, and others would not, eat it, and 
after much "gi'owhng," as the captain terms oui' remon- 
strances, we succeeded in getting a dish of cold hasty 
pudding — the cooks refusmg to warm it for us — and on 
this, with a dipper full of muddy coffee for those who could 
diink it, and of water for those who could not, we made oiu' 
breakfast. We were in an excellent frame of mind to quar- 
rel with the captam, and after a warm dispute we succeeded 
in having the former order of things restored. And bad 
enough it was at that. 

A day or two since I apphed to Capt. J. to sell or lend 
me a httle oil for my own special use diuing the long nights 



LAMPS AND SLUSH. 55 

we liave just begun to encounter. This led to an examin- 
ation of the ship's stock of oil, when it was ascertained 
that but a few gallons remained, which it was necessar}^ to 
husband with the greatest care. To remedy the inconven- 
ience of remaining in almost total darkness, the occupants 
of the mam cabin have invented a variety of lamps, which 
theymanufactm-e out of bottles and phials, cutting them oif 
by means of strings, which they pass rapidly round them 
till they become heated b}^ the friction, and then dipping 
them in water. These lamps they fill \^dth " slush" — grease 
left by the cooks, — which, though a poor substitute for oil, 
they are haj)py to get. 

Janell. A large white albatross flew round the ship 
to-day with other bh'ds. I threw out a baited hook for him, 
wliile the mate stood by with an open knife, threatening 
to cut the Ime. I caught the bii'd several times by the 
bill, and drew him close under the stern, but he slipped 
fi'om the hook, and thus saved the amiable mate the trouble 
of executing his threat. 

The cold has increased to such a degree, that Captain J. 
has set up a stove m the ladies' cabin. The owners of the 
ship have also supplied a stove for our room, but the cap- 
tain tells us there is not wood enough for it — though we are 
convuiced he knows better — and therefore refuses to have 
it set up. So we must make up our minds for a cold pas- 
sage round Cape Horn. The ladies are makmg some 
additional preparations for warding off the cold. Two of 
them have made themselves hoods, and after searching in 
vain among then- stores for cotton to stuff them with, they 
have — by permission — attacked my comfoiier, and sup- 
phed themselves. 

June 13. For a week past we have been drifting about 
withm little more than a day's sail of the Falldand Islands, 
beating agamst head winds, encountering squalls of wmd, 



66 ROUND CAPE HORN.. 

accompanied by rain, liail and snow, almost every hour of 
the day, and making but very little progi'ess. This state 
of things is very u'ksome to us, and we are not a httle im- 
patient. The da^'S are ver}' shoii, and the nights dark and 
di-eary. Oui' situation is any thing but agreeable, and yet 
we often find some httle thmg to amuse us, and the veriest 
tiifles will sometimes answer this piu-pose. One night 
duiing a squall, some of the passengers were out assisting 
the sailors in fui'hng the sails, when a small spar gave way 
and broke. "There," exclaimed one of them, "thatwhif- 
fletree has gone to the devil ! " The idea of a whiffletree 
as one of the spars of a ship, amused the crew, and our 
vohmteer sailors were thereafter denommated "the Whiffle- 
tree Watch." 

June 14. Another disgraceful scene occuiTed in the 
ladies' cabin this morning, being a continuation of the 
quarrel that took place a week since between our woiih}" 
captain and Juha Spaulding. The altercation between them 
was very \T.olent, a part of which I overheard. Captain J. 
was in great TVTath, smote his fists together, and repeatedly 
called Juha a har; told her he would have no more of her 
hes, charged her indu'ectly with having attempted to se- 
duce him, and threatened to shut her up and feed her by 
herself. All this intermingled with much profane and 
other violent language towards a female is by no means 
calculated to remove the strong dislike, which the passen- 
gers enteriam for Captain J. They also very natm-ally 
side with the woman, who, they think, tells quite as many 
tiniths as falsehoods in the matter. 

June 15. I lay this morning looking fi'om the smgle re- 
maining pane of glass in my window upon a bright sk}', 
which I have not often had an opporiunity to observe in 
this region of clouds and storms, and looking for the fii-st 
time ujjon the Magellan Clouds, and contemplating the 



MAGELLAN CLOUDS AND SOVTHERN CROSS. 57 

biilliant constellations in the heavens, among which the 
Southern Cross shone conspicuously. The Cross has been in 
view for several weeks; but though I have seen it several 
times, I have not until recently been certain of its identity, 
and om* inteUigent officers could give me no information 
concerning it. 

"Tlie Magellan Clouds consist of three small nebulae in 
the southern part of the heavens — two blight, like the 
milky wa}', and one dai-k. These are first seen above the 
horizon soon after crossing the southern tropic. When 
off Cape Horn they are nearly overhead. The Cross is 
composed of foiu' stars in that form, and is said to be the 
brightest constellation m the heavens."* 

I received a Httle act of kindness in the evening, which 
I cannot deny myseK the pleasui'e of recording. Soon 
after supper as I was standing in oui- cabin, I remarked to 
a passenger that I had eaten but one biscuit durmg the 
day, and that I was really hungry. To his question " why 
do you not eat some ship-bread?" I replied that I had 
taken a distaste to it dming my seasickness, and the very 
sight of it had become loathsome to me. It was the same 
with the beans we had to-day, — boiled beans and pork, 
which had been seiwed up to us thi-ee or four times a week 
duiing the voyage. The wife of the chief stew^ard — Mrs. 
Grant — was present and heard the conversation. She im- 
mediately left the cabm and passed to the cooks' galley. 
In a few minutes she retui-ned, and as she passed by me she 
cautioned me to be silent, while she shpped a large turn- 
over or fried mince-pie into my coat-pocket. The cooks had 
made a quantity of them for the captain and ladies, and 
she had begged this for me. Many such kindnesses have 
I received fi'om her and other w^omen during the voyage. 
They derive theii* value, not from the greatness of the gift 
bestowed, but fi'om the circumstances in which both the 
giver and the receiver are placed, and to me, sick, hungry 

*R. H. Dana, Jr. 



58 BOUND CAPE HORN. 

and thirsty as I often have been, I have felt such favors to 
be of "greater value than stamps in gold, or sums in 
sealed bags." 

The passengers in the main cabin have made these turn- 
overs and the other varieties, which are got up for the in- 
mates of the ladies' cabin, a subject of some pleasantry. 
They feel that they are equally entitled to these dainties 
with the other passengers. It was stipulated by the 
owners of the vessel, that all the passengers should fare 
alike, and they are naturally sensitive at the distinction 
which is constantly made to their prejudice; and the more 
so as the captain and two other men besides Mr. Johnson, 
have domiciled themselves in the ladies' cabin, where they 
partake of the best the shi^D affords, while the majority 
starve on scouse and boiled beans. 

There was a large gathering near the captain's state- 
room soon after supper to-night, where they continued 
some time shouting vociferously, and singing a parody on 
a fine old song, of which I never heard but these two 
lines : 

" Tim Darling didn't know but his father was well, 
And his father didn't know but Tim Darling was well." 

The parody ran thus: 

" The cooks, they all know that the captain lives well, 
And the captain, he knows that the cooks, they live well." 

The captain listened to the music, which was fully equal 
to the poetry, but with a greater degree of prudence than he 
sometimes exercises, he controlled his temper and pocketed 
the insult. 

Jane 16. A fine gale sprung up last night, and con- 
tinues blowing to-day, bearing us on our course, westward 
of the Falkland Islands, towards the Strait of Le Maire, 
through which we hope to pass to-morrow. 



TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 59 

June 17. A cloudless, golden sky in the morning, a pleas- 
ant breeze, a calm sea, a cool air, but not freezing, and a 
soft, hazy atmosphere, like one of our northern summer 
mornings. Tierra del Fuego lay before us on the right, 
and Staten Land on the left, their valleys and heights 
covered with snow. I promised myself the great gratifi- 
cation of a near view of both of these desolate regions; 
but in this I was doomed to disappointment. 

Before ten o'clock the sky became filled w^ith clouds, and 
the brilliancy of the morning gave place to darkness and 
gloom. An eclipse of the sun occurred during the day, 
which increased the darkness. The wind gradually died 
away, and we passed several hours at the entrance to the 
Strait of Le Maire, where we encountered a strong current 
till night, when we perceived the ship to be drifting astern.- 
At about four p. m. the tide turned, and swept us back 
into the Strait again. It was now dark, and but little 
could be seen around us. The current carried us towards 
Staten Land, whose coasts were very bold and dangerous 
to approach, and were rendered doubly so at this time by 
the exceeding darkness of the night. Our sails were flap- 
ping uselessly against the masts, w^e had no control over 
the vessel, which was drifting at the rate of four knots an 
hour, and our situation was becoming perilous in the ex- 
treme. Captain J. was exceedingly anxious. He ordered 
the mate to have the boats in readiness, for we might 
soon want them. We were now only three miles distant 
from the coast as the captain conjectured. A heavy swell 
added to our danger and increased our difiiculties; and 
there seemed scarcely a hope of our escaping shipwreck, 
on one of the most desolate and forlorn coasts of which 
the imagination can conceive. But just at this juncture, 
when a few minutes more would have sent the ship on to 
the rocks, a favorable wind providentially sprung up, the 



60 BOUND GAPE HORN. 

sails filled, the ship began to feel her helm, and we bade 
adieu to Staten Land. 

But another danger awaited us. In getting clear of 
Staten Land we approached too near the coast of Tierra 
del Fuego, and came very near running upon a large rock 
that Ues off that coast; but happily the sailor at the watch 
discovered it in season to wear ship, and sail by it. At 
length all the dangers of this hazardous passage were 
cleared, and before morning we had passed into the open 
ocean again. 

We saw but few signs of vegetation on Staten Land. 
It was thrown up into mountains and precipices of the 
most rugged and barren character, and presented an as- 
pect of dreary desolation. There were patches of low 
shrubs in sight on Tierra del Fuego, but no trees. The 
hills at the entrance to the Strait were less precipitous 
than those on Staten Land. But the whole scene, so far 
as the early darkness permitted us to view it, was as for- 
bidding as it could well be. Immense flocks of ducks flew 
across the Strait towards Staten Land in the afternoon. 
There was also a flock of Cape Pigeons, perhaps a hun- 
dred in number, flying round the ship, and the passengers 
fed them with scraps of pork and with pot skimmings. 
As I watched this amusement, I could not suppress the 
thought that this was an inexcusable waste of those 
precious dainties, which should have been preserved for 
the manufacture of — scouse. 

The width of the Strait of Le Maire is about twenty 
miles. The length of Staten Land is seventy miles. 

June 19. "We beat against a head wind yesterday, and 
made but little progress. To-day we had a specimen of 
Cape Horn weather. A squall arose in the morning, the 
most violent we have yet encountered; and the sailors 
were sent in good haste to shorten sail. Assisted by the 



FIRST VIEW OF GAPE HOllN. 61 

passengers, they soon reduced the canvass to the proper 
quantity, and our vessel rode out the storm in fine style, 
and without any damage. But the captain and two of 
the passengers lost each a hat. The wind abated in the 
afternoon. 

While the gale was at its height, one of the passengers 
caught a beautiful black albatross for me. But while the 
company were looking at it, the captain and mate watched 
the bird, determined that it should not be killed. I be- 
lieve they really felt that the safety of the ship depended 
on the life of the bird. It was a magnificent specimen of 
this species of albatross, in fact, the only one I ever saw, 
and would have been a valuable acquisition to me. But I left 
it for a moment in charge of a friend, when the captain 
ordered the second mate to bring it to him, and he threw 
it overboard. Such is the influence of superstition on an 
ignorant seaman. 

June 20. The gale of yesterday subsided at night to a. 
light breeze, which continued during the night, and this 
morning we had the great gratification of beholding Cape 
Horn. It lay but a few miles distant, and in full view be- 
fore us. I felt a slight degree of enthusiasm as I looked 
upon it, and recalled the descriptions I had read of it in 
my boyhood, and the tales of terror I had gathered from 
the narratives of voyages round this far-famed point. We 
were sailing past the Cape in a south-west direction, with 
a breeze that was fast increasing in strength, and we 
hoped that the next tack of our ship would carry us safely 
beyond the much dreaded barrier. But we soon found 
that this was not to be so speedily accomplished. The 
wind rose to a gale, and we were obliged to reduce our 
canvass to a few sails, and at last to lay to under the fore- 
top-mast-stay sail, main-stay sail and spanker. 



62 ROUND GAPE HORN. 

Cape Horn is a naked promontory at the extremity of 
a little island about twelve miles long, called Horn Island. 
Many other islands and rocks lie in the neighborhood, but 
Cape Horn is readily distinguished from them all by its 
greater height and the steepness of its south-western side. 
It is ninety miles distant from the Strait of Le Maire. Its 
latitude is 55° 59' south, and its longitude, 67° 16' west. 

June 21. "We are still encountering head winds, still 
laying to and drifting to leeward. The wind blows in 
tempestuous gusts, and the seas are running higher than 
I have ever before seen them. The sky is covered with 
clouds, from which we receive frequent showers of rain, 
accompanied in a single instance, with thunder and light- 
ning. Now and then the sun breaks forth for a moment, 
but soon disappears again. It is a season of anxiety to 
many of us, but the bark proves a good sea-boat, and we 
have considerable confidence in the skill of our captain. 

June 22. The gale became furious last night, and seemed 
increasing in force this morning. We had no little diffi- 
culty in eating our breakfast. A pan of fried pork and 
boiled beef, another pan of hard-bread, and a pot of coffee 
were set on the table, but how to keep them there required 
a greater degree of skill than we possessed. We could 
not sit, and we were in danger every moment of being 
pitched over the table, and across the cabin. To avoid 
such a catastrophe we were obliged to hold by the berths 
with both hands. We made an effort, how^ever, to eat, 
but had hardly made a beginning when a violent lurch of 
the ship sent our pork, bread, coffee, and all, in an instant 
upon the floor and into a neighboring berth. The scene 
was rather ludicrous, and we managed to extract a laugh 
out of it as we picked up the fragments, sent for a pot of 
fresh coffee, and finished our breakfast. 



I 



CHAPTER VII. 

Severe Cold — Furious Storm — Diego Ramirez Islands — Land Ahead- 
Cape Hofn Weather— Two Vessels— Length of Daj's and Nights — Disagree- 
able Brawl — Heading North — Patagonia — The Andes — Another Storm — 
Anxiety of Captain J. — A Lunar Rainbow — Another Gale — Bill of Fare — 
Filthy Cooks and Impure Water. 

MJJNE 23. The wind, which continued to blow with 
great fury during the night, began to subside a Httle 
towards morning, and as it was now veering to a 
more favorable point, we unfurled the sails, and were in 
good spirits at the prospect of speedily weathering the 
Cape. But the wind soon changed again, and continued 
to blow in violent gusts during the day, bringing down 
flights of snow and sleet, which covered the decks, and 
froze the sails and rigging. The cold was severe, and our 
cabin very uncomfortable. By invitation from one of the 
ladies, I visited their cabin for the first time since we left 
Rio. I was glad of an opportunity to warm my feet and 
hands at their stove. We are in the habit of betaking 
ourselves to our berths for warmth, though I occasionally 
get into the cooks' galley when it is not occupied by other 
passengers or sailors. 

During a temporary abatement of the gale at night, 
several of the ladies went out and amused themselves with 
snow-balling. The sport was lively but of short continu- 
ance. 

June 24. A fresh wind was blowing in the morning 
when I arose, and a thick fall of snow nearly blinded me 
as I went out on deck. The cold had become intense, and 
it was a time of suffering for the poor sailors. But the 



64 ROVND CAPE HORN. 

wind was fair, and Captain J. determined to improve it by 
spreading more sail. But the men had scarcely got the 
fore and maintop sails set, when the storm came on again 
with a fury far exceeding any thing we had yet encount- 
ered, and they were again sent aloft to furl the sails. We 
now lay to under two stay sails, the ship rolling with great 
violence, and the seas breaking over the decks. 

There is a beauty, a sublimity in this war of the winds 
and waters, that fill the mind of the beholder with emo- 
tions of mingled delight and awe, and not unfrequently, 
be it confessed, with fear. It presents a scene which is 
difficult to describe, and can be imagined only by him who 
has witnessed it. To the captain it was at this time a 
season of anxiety, and to the sailors one of severe hard- 
ship. It was also a time of much uneasiness with many 
of the passengers; and one of them, who went up to assist 
in furling a sail, came down with his hands badly frozen. 
The winds whistled, howled and shrieked through the 
rigging, the torn sails flapped, the strained masts creaked 
and groaned, the waves rolled up into immense billows 
covered with foam, and dashed against the sides of the 
ship and over the bulwarks, deluging every person and 
setting afloat every loose thing upon the decks. Borne 
about by the raging waters, the ship often staggered for a 
moment upon the crest of a great wave, as if fearful of 
the plunge she was about to take, but quickly sinking 
down into the moving chasm, as if she were attempting to 
dive to the bottom of the sea, until overtaken by another 
billow, she rose to its crest, though only to be sunk into 
another and another gulf. Sometimes pressed down upon 
her side by a more violent gust of wind until her yard- 
arms dipped into the water, the interposition of a merciful 
Providence only could save us. But that Providence, 
which had watched over, and guarded and guided us 



I 



A VIOLENT GALE. 65 

through so many perils, did not desert us in this. The blast 
swept by, the ship slowly arose, and her freight of eighty- 
eight human beings escaped the threatened destruction. 

Restless as the sea birds that still hovered around her, 
ever in motion, pitching, plunging, lurching and rolling, she 
was apparently driven about at the mercy of the winds 
and waves, that almost bade defiance to the men at the 
wheel, whose utmost skill and exertions could scarce en- 
able them to direct her course. 

Captain J. came into the after house during the storm 
to take a cup of coffee, wdth his clothes whitened with the 
snow and his face coated with ice. But he had scarcely 
been in a minute, when he was hastily sent for by the 
mate, for the gale had suddenly increased to such a de- 
gree of violence, that we were in great danger of being 
capsized. He went out again, and gave orders to reduce 
even the small patches of canvass that were still flying. 
His orders were answ^ered promptly, and the ship lay to 
again. The storm raged with great fury till near noon, 
when it began to abate, and we were enabled to carry a 
little more sail. The wind continued favorable during the 
remainder of the day, but the snow squalls came on in 
terrible blasts until late at night. 

A w^eek had now elapsed since we passed through the 
Strait of Le Maire, and so beclouded had the sky been 
during that time, that Captain J. had had no opportunity to 
take an observation of the sun, and of course he was 
in painful uncertainty as to our situation. There was some 
danger to be apprehended from a cluster of small islands or 
rocks, called the Diego Ramirez Islands, lying fifty-five 
miles to the south-west of Cape Horn, and near which we 
expected to pass. And it behooved us to keep a good 
lookout for these rocks during the obscurity of the day, 
and the deep darkness of the night. 



66 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

June 25. The cry of "land ahead" aroused us at an 
early hour this morning. It proved to be the islands I 
have just mentioned. The night was so dark that we were 
close upon the breakers before we were aware of our ap- 
proach to the islands. Fortunately we had room enough 
in which to wear ship and escape the danger. We stood 
away till daylight enabled us to resume our course, when 
we passed between these islands and Tierra del Fuego. 

We have now weathered Cape Horn. During eight days 
since we passed through the Strait of Le Maire, we have 
been struggling against head winds, and have at length 
accomplished a task, which might have been performed 
with a fair wind in ten or twelve hours. Our impatience 
has been great, and we feel much relieved on finding our- 
selves beyond the stormy barrier, and with a fair prospect 
of soon being safely delivered from this region of storms 
and darkness, There is another little circumstance that 
adds to our cheerfulness. From the second day since we 
left Eio we have not seen a single sail. This afternoon 
two vessels are in sight, and our company, for want of 
other subjects, are busily engaged in'discussing the ques- 
tions, "Who are they ? " and " Can we come up with them?'* 
and "How soon?" 

The sun rose to-day at fifteen minutes past nine, and set 
at fifteen minutes before three, giving us a day of five 
and a half hours, and a night eighteen and a half hours 
long. 

June 27. Sunday. Our ship has been the scene of a 
disgraceful brawl, I may almost say, riot. For many 
weeks past, a feud has existed between our worthy chap- 
lain, Mr. Johnson, and Miss Julia S. Miss Julia, who is 
not overburdened with a superabundance of refinement 
or delicacy, has used some rather coarse language towards 
Mr. J., which he, perhaps, has not received with that 



DISGRACEFUL ALTERCATION. 67 

meekness and forbearance, which would become a minister 
of the Gospel. This morning when he arose, he saw a 
dress of Miss Julia's hanging against the stove, where she 
had placed it to dry, and not being in that amiable frame 
of mind that would seem to be desirable, he threw the 
dress upon the floor, where it remained till Miss Julia 
found it. Her wrath was very bitter, and many hard 
words passed between her and the reverend chaplain ; the 
temper of both parties increasing in warmth until Mr. J. 
remarked in the language of Scripture that he would leave 
Miss Julia to her "wallowing like a sow in the mire," 
whereupon Miss Julia seized a billet of wood and threw 
it at the head of the parson, and the parson, in the excite- 
ment of the moment, forgetting the injunction to turn the 
other cheek, returned the compliment by hitting Miss Julia 
a slap in the face, and pushing her towards the companion- 
way. By this time the inmates of our room, overhearing 
the uproar, had assembled at the head of the companion- 
way, and were on the point of rushing down ; but taking 
a moment to consider, they turned back, and in an instant 
were engaged among themselves in an altercation upon 
the demerits of the quarrel, almost as violent as that 
which was raging below. Captain J. soon joined us, and 
as his mode of reasoning seldom tends to allay wrath or to 
settle a dispute, the discussion continued with increased 
violence, and it was several hours before order was re- 
stored. As in former quarrels, a large majority of the 
passengers were found to advocate the cause of the woman. 
But whoever was most to blame, Mr. Johnson was the 
most deeply injured by the quarrel, and his influence 
and usefulness, which had long been waning, were from 
this time ended. There are several religious people in the 
main cabin, who held a prayer-meeting after the quarrel 
had subsided, but Mr. J. did not attend, nor did he at- 



68 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

tempt to hold any other reUgious exercises during the day. 

June 28. We are now driving along before a fine breeze 
in the Pacific Ocean, which seems disposed to prove to 
us on our introduction, that she is entitled to the soubri- 
quet by which she is known. Cape Horn is far behind 
us, we have given Tierra del Fuego a wide berth, and 
headed our ship for the north. Our next port, Talcahua - 
na, is only a thousand miles distant, — next to nothing, — 
and we will be there in a week if this breeze continues. 
Sherman has captured another porpoise, and we shall 
have some steaks for breakfast, and some oil for our lamps. 
The air for two days x^ast has been comparatively mild, 
I am enabled to spend considerable time on deck, my 
health is improving, and I am enjoying many pleasing an- 
ticipations. 

June 29. Our course is parallel to the coast of Patago- 
nia; and though more than seventy-five miles distant from 
it, we have a distinct view of some majestic ranges of 
mountains on the large islands, which lie along the coast. 
Standing as they do in this bleak and dreary land, their 
sides and summits shrouded in snow, and presenting to 
the view and the imagination, a picture at once of vast 
sublimity and of eternal solitude and utter desolation, I 
can scarcely restrain the feeling of awe that comes over 
me as I behold them. But what land is that coming sud- 
denly in sight under our lee bow, and nearly in the direction 
of the ship? All hands are gazing at it, and Captain J. , as 
he sees our proximity to the land, begins to doubt the 
accuracy of his reckoning. We are all anxious about it, 
for with the wind in its present direction, we must tack 
ship or run ashore. Night comes on, the ship is put about, 
and our dream of a speed}' run to Talcahuaua is at an end. 
And these mountains we have been beholding must lie be- 
yond the islands, and it adds not a little to the interest of 



I 



DRIFTING ON A LEE SHORE. 69 

the scene to reflect that they can be no other than a por- 
tion of the great range 'of the Andes, and this my first, 
and will probably be my last view of them. 

June 30. It has been our fortune to encounter another 
storm. The wind blew with great fury, and rolled the 
waves up to a magnificent height. We had been scudding 
before it nearly all day, and were fast drifting on a lee 
shore, with little chance of escape but with a change of 
wind. Captain J. passed much of his time on deck, and 
was watchful and anxious. He came into our room at 
night to warn us of approaching danger. "I tell you 
what," said he, "I don't want to say nothing to skear you, 
bat if this wind holds till morning, we shall see hard 
times." Such an announcement from our experienced 
captain, who had not, during the voyage, uttered a warn- 
ing so fraught with terror to us, and which betrayed his 
sense of the imminence of ourdanger,causedashadeof deep 
anxiety to pass over the countenances of many of our 
companions, who could have exclaimed in the language of 
honest old Gonzalo: "Now would I give a thousand fur- 
longs of sea for an acre of barren ground; long heath, 
brown furze, any thing. The wills above be done ! but I 
would fain die a dry death." But it was not our destiny 
to be engulfed in the raging sea, nor to suffer a more horrible 
death on the bleak and desolate coast of Patagonia. After 
a few hours of anxious suspense, we perceived a lull in the 
storm, and this lull was succeeded by a change in the 
wind, which enabled us to stand on our course again, 
which we did under all the canvass our ship could carry. 

July 2. I have had the pleasure of beholding a novel 
phenomenon, a lunar rainbow. It occurred at seven o'clock 
in the evening. The atmosphere was hazy, and the moon 
shone with a dim luster. Though much fainter than a 
solar rainbow, and having none of its brilliant hues, it was 



70 BOUXV CAPE HORN. 

still very distinct, and spanned nearly half the arch of the 
heavens. 

July 4. Sunday. No religious ser\dces to-day, nor any 
celebration of the anniversary of Independence. Instead 
thereof, we have been battling with another heavy gale, 
and driving before it under the foresail, foretop sail, and 
maintop sail, all close reefed. The seas run very high, 
and the ship pitched violently. Standing on the quarter- 
deck, we could often see the waves over the fore yard as 
the vessel pitched into the trough of a sea. 

July 5. Another attempt has been made to induce 
Captain J. to substitute a more decent bill of fare in place 
of the disgusting dishes upon which he has starved us 
during the voyage. As we are approaching Talcahuana, 
where a supply of such necessaries as we may need can 
be obtained, it was thought proper to hold a formal meet- 
ing for the purpose in the main cabin. A chairman, secretary 
and a committee to report a bill of fare for the considera- 
tion of Captain J., were chosen. Mr. Grant, the chief 
steward, was called in, who stated that in supplying the 
table in the after cabin with better food than those in the 
other parts of the ship, he had acted in comj^liance with 
the orders of Captain J., and that the captain had also 
directed him to reduce the allowance of soft-tack to the 
passengers. The committee on the bill of fare reported 
to recommend for dinners, on Monday, beef and rice; on 
Tuesday, beans and pork; on Wednesday, fish and pota- 
toes, or rice; on Thursday, beef and potatoes and duft'; 
on Friday, beans and pork; on Saturday, fish and pota- 
toes, and on Sunday, beef and duff, with soft-tack and 
apple-sauce once a day. This report was accepted. The 
committee immediately waited upon the captain, whom 
they found in a more amiable mood than they had antic- 
ipated, and obtained from him some general promises of 



I 



THE SHIP'S STORES. 71 

improvement, which gave us a slight degree of encour- 
agement. 

It is not a little provoking under all our privations to 
know that we have on board the bark a sufficient quantity 
of wholesome food to make us comfortable. In addition 
to good beef, pork, codfish, beans, potatoes and hard- 
bread, we have a quantity of flour, sufficient to give us a 
reasonable supply of soft-tack, besides rice, dried apples, 
raisins and sugar. We have no reason to complain of the 
owners of the vessel, but charge our discomforts to the 
surly brutality of the captain, and the execrable filthiness 
of the cooks. A portion of our suj)ply of water is im- 
pure, having been put into bad casks. But when one of 
these casks is tapped, however disgusting it may be, we 
are allowed no other until it is used up. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

Captain Jackson — A Drifting Spar — Approaching Talcahuana — Washing- 
day — Landscapes — Harbor of Talcahuana— Pelicans— A visit from Officials- 
Description of the Town — American Houses — Tremont House — A Dinner. 

APTAIN J. seems to be actuated by only one object, 
'"''" namely, to make a profitable voyage for his employ- 
ers,regardless of the rights or comforts of his passen- 
gers. And any little concessions he makes to the demands of 
his passengers, — and these concessions are few and far be- 
tween, — any little change he makes for the better in our 
fare, any thing he does to alleviate the discomforts of our 
voyage, is done with extreme reluctance, and seldom with- 
out a dispute or a serious quarrel. Let me finish the 
picture I have begun of the man. He has the frame of a 
giant, six feet two inches high. His fist is brawny as the 
paw of a grizzly bear, and his foot is a terror to shoe- 
makers. He is ungainly in his figure, and awkward and 
ungraceful in every movement and gesture. He has a 
coarse, vulgar, morose cast of countenance, is distant and 
repulsive in his manners, gross and vulgar in his tastes and 
conversation, and fond of repeating ])rofane and obscene 
jests and anecdotes. He is exceedingly obstinate, wilful 
and unyielding, which qualities he mistakes for independ- 
ence of mind. He boasts of his indifference as to what 
is said of him, and yet manifests an extreme sensitiveness 
when he is made the subject of a jest. Notwithstanding 
his long continued intercourse with the world, he has 
learned nothing of human nature, and he thinks to gov- 
ern men by fear and brute force, rather than by reason, 



CAPTAIN J A CKSON. 73 

persuasion or kindDess. There is nothing conciliating in 
his disposition, but in all his discussions with his passen- 
gers, he talks in a spirit of rude dictation and of defiance. 
He seldom speaks a kind word to his sailoi'S, and has 
acquired the hearty hatred of them all. He hates Dana 
and his "Two years before the Mast," because Dana's 
sympathies are enlisted on the side of the oppressed sea- 
men, and against tyrannical ship-masters. He hates Edward 
Kent, our Consul at Rio, for the same reason. He is 
strongly tinctured with those superstitions that characterize 
the ignorant portion of his class. In politics he is a rabid 
loco-foco, a blind worshiper of Andrew Jackson, whom 
he has been taught to call a second Washington. But his 
chief political knowledge consists in a number of slang 
phrases and slurs, which he threw out with great liberal- 
ity in the former part of the voyage, but which were 
answered in a manner that taught him a little circumspec- 
tion in the use of his favorite weapons. Such is the man^ 
to whose arbitrary will we are bound to submit during thi& 
long voyage. But we believe him to be a cautious and 
skillful navigator; and if we see in him a total absence of 
every characteristic of a gentleman, of every qualification 
requisite to make an agreeable commander of a passenger- 
ship, we are happy to find some compensation for these 
defects in his watchfulness and care. 

July 6. Approaching the harbor of Talcahuana, we 
saw a large broken yard with several ropes attached to it, 
floating within a few rods of the shij). From the fresh 
apj)earance of the fracture, I perceived that it had recently 
been broken. A casual remark dropped by one of the, 
passengers, that some vessel had probably been wrecked 
in one of the storms we had lately encountered, and the- 
spar was passed and forgotten. But what a history of 
suffering and despair may there be connected with that 



74 ROUND GAPE HORN. 

spar! Perhaps it belonged to our acquaintance at Rio, 
the North America. She may have been wrecked on this 
coast, and her five hundred souls have been sunk in the 
waves or dashed on the rocks. In their efforts to save 
themselves, may not some of them have been lashed to 
this very yard? Perhaps, as the vessel went to pieces, 
and one after another was swallowed up, the lives of a 
few may have been prolonged beyond those of their fel- 
low sufferers. And oh! what an hour of horror must 
that have been to them! What thoughts of deep and 
bitter anguish did they send to the homes they had seen 
for the last time, and to the wives, daughters, mothers, sis- 
ters and friends, to whom they had bidden farewell for- 
ever! "What ages of intense agony must have been con- 
centrated and endured in the few hours, perhaps minutes, 
those sufferers lay lashed to that spar, and saw, one after 
another, their companions expire!" May not this vessel 
have been lost in one of the storms that nearly drove us 
ashore upon the coast of Patagonia? How near may we 
have been to sharing the same fate with them? And may 
we not, even now, after having escaped so many dangers, 
be reserved for the same or a worse doom? Such or sim- 
ilar reflections naturally arise in one's mind at the sight 
of a floating mast or spar at sea. I have often seen them, 
but never before one so new, and bearing such certain in- 
dications of a recent shipwreck. 

We are in a state of excitement consequent on approach- 
ing a port after our long voyage, and there is much prep- 
aration making for going ashore; washing, which has been 
but slightly performed during our cold passage, shaving, 
and cutting hair. Our chests and trunks are overhauled, 
and clean shirts and the best pants are selected. It is 
"washing day" too with the women, who have obtained 
some fresh water for their purpose. Even Mrs. I4 1, 



APPROACH TO TALCAHUANA. 75 

who has hitherto manifested a very idle disposition, has 
gathered up a quantity of her child's garments, and proves 
that she is not incompetent to perform the duties of the 
wash-tub, while Captain J. stands like a sentinel over her, 
engaged in a low, but earnest conversation, attracting 
the attention, and exciting the remarks of the company, 
by his ridiculous manifestations of a silly lover's foolish 
fondness. 

The sight of a landscape is always delightful to me, but 
it is particularly so after having been so long at sea. We 
have had many views of the coast during our passage from 
Rio, but they have been only those of naked and barren 
rocks, desolate shores, and snow-covered mountains. Now 
we begin again to behold symptoms of vegetable life. The 
sides of a high hill we have passed, though there is no 
sign of a human habit^^ion near it, have the appearance 
of cultivated fields and thick forests. And some of the 
trees have a shade of light green, reminding us of fields 
of wheat in Maine, and suggesting many thoughts of 
home to us. Yonder, as far as the eye can reach, is a 
point of land rising to the view. And as we approach it, 
there are seen two beautifully rounded hills. We have 
examined the chart, and find these hills to be the "Paps 
of Bio-bio," and Talcahuana lies several miles beyond 
them. We had hoped to reach that port to-day, but now 
we find the distance too great to be accomplished by day- 
light, and as Captain J. has never been there, he will not 
risk the passage by night. So, despite our impatience, we 
have no alternative but to sail up to the entrance to the 
harbor, and lay off and on till morning. 

July 7. We entered the harbor of Talcahuana at ten 
o'clock in the morning, and spent the remainder of the 
day in beating up to the town against a head wind, a dis- 
tance of about twenty miles. Our entrance to this port 



76 ROUND CAFE HORN. 

was signalized by a very iuteresting event, nothing less 
than my first sight of that monster bird, the Brown Pel- 
ican. (Pelicanus fuscus.) A great flock of sea birds 
were hovering over the water, and centering to one point, 
probably attracted by some substance on which they were 
feeding. The passengers watched them with great inter- 
est. AYe sailed very near them before they left the spot, 
when, to my great gratification, I saw a dozen pelicans, 
with their immensely long bills and great pouches, rise up 
and fly away with the flock. Never before had I seen 
such an unwieldy bird on wings, and it seemed a wonder 
that it could support such a ponderous body in the air. 
But though ungainly in their appearance, they flew with 
considerable velocity, and sustained their great weight 
and bulk with much ease. Our company were all stran- 
gers to the bird, and with one exception none could tell 
its name. 

We dropped anchor within half a mile of the town 
amidst a fleet of twelve ships and barks, several of which 
belonged to the United States. We were immediately 
visited by the captain of the port, who was an English- 
man, attended by other officials, Chilians. We also re- 
ceived a call from three other gentlemen, American 
merchants, formerly from New York, Massachusetts and 
Ohio. They came on board to solicit business. By invi- 
tation from one of them. Captain J. went on shore, and 
passed the night with him; and the next day he took his 

chere amie, Mrs. L 1, to the same house, where they 

tarried till we sailed. It was gratifying to meet thus un- 
expectedly, a number of our own countrymen in this far 
distant port, and to learn, as we did, that several other 
Yankees were residents here. 

July 8. A number of Chilian boats were along-side in 
the morning for passengers. We speedily filled them, all 



I 



DESCBIPTION OF TALGAHUANA. 77 

of us eager to land, our curiosity being highly excited in 
anticipation of the new and strange tilings we were ahout 
to behold in this pretty town, as it appeared to us fi'om the 
ship. Judge then of ni}^ disappointment when on landing 
I found myself in the most filthy and disgusting village I 
ever beheld. A row of ill-looldng houses, huts and shops 
stretched along the bay for nearty a mile. Three very nar- 
row, paraUel streets ran the length of the village, and were 
crossed at right angles b}^ other streets still naiTOwer, and 
all filled mth deep mud and filth. A few large ware-, 
houses, stores, and dwellings, stood in the fi*ont street, but 
all mth a very few exceptions, only one -story high; and in 
no single instance was there the least jDi'etension to archi- 
tectiu-al beauty. The houses were generally built in long 
ranges or blocks, and so low that we could touch the eaves 
as we passed them. There were also great numbers of 
httle huts made of stakes diiven into the ground, inter- 
woven Arith twigs, and plastered over with mud. A roof 
thatched mth coarse grass completed the dwelhng. Many 
of the better buildings had theii' roofs covered with coarse 
tiles. Besides the large warehouses I have mentioned, 
which all belonged to foreigners, there were many httle 
shops containmg a plentiful supply of hquors m bottles, 
and some articles of dry goods. An open sjoace for a 
square was left at the back part of the village. To this 
square the mhabitants retreat for safety in case of earth- 
quakes. It was destitute of trees or any other ornament. 
There was not, I believe, a single tree in the town; but 
many clusters and thickets of shrubs grew in the fields 
and on the liills, and gave a x^leasant appearance to the 
country when viewed at a distance. There were great 
numbers of houses of entertamment, and fi^om the signs 
hung out, one might readily judge what nation contributes 
to theii* suppoi-t. At any rate, it is amusing to see an 



78 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

American in a far distant foreign port, to read in every 
street such signs as the following : California Hotel, Amer- 
ican Hotel, American House, New Bedford House, New 
York Restaui-ant, Eagle Hotel, &c. I went into several 
of them, and found them so excessively filthy, that despite 
the keenness of my appetite, I could not eat, and made up 
my mind that I must go back to the dirty bark for my 
dinner. But in the com'se of my rambles, I saw several of 
oui' ship's company standing at the door of a house of a 
better description than most of those I had seen. The 
walls of this house bore the imposing sign, "Tremont 
House." I could not resist the temptation to go in and 
inspect the premises. Fu'st and foremost was a large bar 
well stocked ^ith hquors. But as this was not the piinci- 
pal object of my search, I passed on to the dining-room, 
where I saw a table covered with a clean white cloth. My 
resolution was formed, and I immediately booked my name 
for dinner. The hour for dining was two. But before we 
sit down to the table, allow me to introduce the proprietor 
of the house, and give you a description of his dining- 
room and fui-nitui'e. Our landlord was a Yankee, and had 
been during many years master of a ship, till he anchored 
in this poii, took a Chihan girl for his wife, and turned 
Boniface. We dined in a large square room Ughted with 
two windows secui-ed by u'on grates, and set in a stone 
wall nearly three feet thick, — these thick walls and iron 
grates, as well as the single story in which the houses are 
built, being a necessaiy protection against eai-thquakes. 
The vrindows were shaded with cotton curtains, red and 
white. There were large, coarse, double doors like those 
of a warehouse, the floor was paved with large tiles, and 
the uncovered beams were festooned with a profusion of 
cobwebs. A pile of boxes lay in one corner, a quantity of 
boxes and baiTels surmounted by an X bedstead, loaded 



DINNER AT TREMONT HOUSE. 7^ 

with old saddles, occupied another comer, rude side-tables 
with more old casks and boxes under them, and a dining 
table with the clean table-cloth aforesaid, set for twenty- 
five persons, with the same number of chau's, which had 
been imported fi'om Yankee Land, — these constituted the 
furnitui'e of the dining-room of the Tremont House, Tal- 
cahuana, ChiU. Oiu* company were unanimously of the 
opinion that this st3ie of fui-nishing an eating-room was 
open to criticism ; but we were not disposed to be fastid- 
ious or captious; and had we been so, the displaj^ of the 
dinner upon the table would have completely done away 
all disposition for fault finding. Macaroni soup, roast 
beef, roast ^dld ducks, corned boiled beef, x^otatoes, beets, 
squash, bread, pudding, &c., and wine. With such a bill 
of fare before us, we quickly lost sight of the surroundings. 
It was maiwelous to witness the disappearance of these 
luscious viands before twenty half starved mortals. But 
there was no lack of it, and all were satisfied. The food 
was of an excellent quahty and well cooked. In fact one 
of our own fellow-passengers expressed a decided prefer- 
ence for this dinner to a ten quart tin pan full of scouse on 
board the James W. Paige. I made a hearty meal of roast 
duck, washed down with a copious draught of weak wine, 
a production of the countr5\ Thus pleasantly terminated 
my ramble in search of a dinner. And if any thing 
could overcome my chagrin at being landed in this con- 
temptible place, it would be such a dinner with such an 
appetite. 



CHAPTEK IX. 

Character of the Inhabitants — Agricultural Implements — Lassoing Cattle- 
Poncho— A Covered Wagon — 'S^lld Doves — An Earthquake — An Excursion 
— Dogs, Women, Children, and Shells — A Scotchman and his Wine — An Ad- 
venture and the Calaboose — A Chilian Musket Fished Up — An Affecting In- 
cident — Fruit Market — Leave Talcahuana — An Explanation — Theft in the 
Cooks' Galley — Disinterested Advice— Uneasiness of Mrs. L 1 and Capt. J. 

MHAVE said notliing of the character and appear- 
ance of the inhabitants of this toTSTi. There are abont 
three thousand of them. On our first landing, I saw 
standing round the shops, groups of ragged, duiy, copper 
colored fellows, with a "poncho" over theii' shoulders, and 
a conical hat without a brim on their heads. Some were 
employed in roUing large square bundles of wool fi'om a 
warehouse to the landing. A few were diiving loaded 
mules and asses, and others were variously employed; but 
the greater part of them were leaning against the build- 
ings, or walking idly about, as worthless looldng a set of 
vagabonds as could very well be imagined. A very small 
number of well di-essed men were to be seen; but these 
were mostly foreigners, and the majority of them fi'om the 
United States. Several women and girls were seated in 
front of the shops selling apples and cakes. As I passed 
into the cross streets I saw a great many women seated or 
standing at their doors, or walking in the streets. Many 
of them were very filthy, though some were neatly dressed, 
and were rather pretty. They had dark complexions, 
fi-esh, florid cheeks, bright, black eyes, and black, glossy 
hau' hanging down then- backs in two braids. They wore 
nothing on theii* heads, and I did not see a bonnet in 



I 



LASSOING Ay OX. 81 

Talcaliuana. They liad a smile and a word for all stran- 
gers, but their smiles were those of the sii-en. They were 
all sunk iii the lowest de^^ths of moral degradation and 
j)ollution. Such is the general character of the people of 
this to^m. There are exceptions, and it is said that the 
mariied women are remarkably faithful to theu* marriage 
vows. 

I took a walk up a hill in the rear of the village in com- 
pany with several of my feUow-passengers. Saw several 
men emplo^^ed in plowing then* fields and harrowing in 
wheat, this being their season for sowing grain, though I saw 
several fields in wliich the seed had sjn'outed and grown up 
three or foiu* inches. The extreme rudeness of theii' farm- 
ing implements surprised me. Their plow was of the most 
primitive description, being formed of two pieces of wood, • 
the beam being long enough to reach to the yoke to which 
it was attached, and the other piece forming the handle 
and j)oint. A pair of small oxen di-ew it. Theii- yoke was 
a straight stick laid across their necks, and fastened to 
their horns. The man held the single handle of the plow 
in his right hand and a whip in his left. He broke up the 
sui'face of the ground not more than two or three inches 
deep, and harrowed the seed in with the same plow instead 
of a haiTow. The soil is exceedingly rich, or such cultiva- 
tion would never produce a crop. The Enghsh and Amer- 
icans have brought their best plows and other agricultui'al 
implements here, but they cannot persuade the Chilians to 
use them. 

On going up a steep hill, we saw a Chilian on horseback 
accompanied by half a dozen dogs in full pursuit of an ox. 
They passed near us. I saw the rider take his lasso, twii'l 
it several times over his head, and thi'ow it. I witnessed 
the performance \\ith gi'eat interest; but the result disap- 
pointed me, and I regTetted that in the first instance I 



82 BOUND CAPE HORK 

had seen of the throwing of the lasso, it missed its aim. 
The Chilian gathered up his lasso, threw it a second time, 
and caught the ox by the horns. The Chilians are fine 
horsemen, and they seldom ride without a lasso, which 
they are very expert in using. 

I have spoken of the poncho. This is a very imporiant 
article of dress with the Chilians, and I beheve with aU the 
Spanish population of America. It consists simply of a 
shawl either squai'e or oblong, with a sht ia the center, 
thi'ough which the head is thrust, and the poncho hangs 
loosely over the shoiilders. They are made of a gi'eat va- 
riety of materials and patterns, some plaia, and others 
richly striped, checked, or figm-ed. 

On our retiu'n to the tillage we saw a large covered 
wagon dra-s^Ti by one horse. This would not have attracted 
oui' attention had we not observed that the driver, instead 
of taking his seat in the caiiiage, rode another horse, and 
guided the wagon horse by means of a long bridle. This 
wagon was run daily to the city of Concepcion and back, 
and was the only carriage I saw here. It must depend on 
foreigners for patronage, for I doubt if a Chilian coidd be 
persuaded to take a seat in it while he had a horse to ride. 

At the door of the Tremont House I saw a man with 
several strings of a pretty species of little wild doves, about 
the size of the httle gi'ound dove described by Audubon. 
Oui* landlord bought them. 

No man can risit Chili -svithout encountering an earth- 
quake. At least I never heard of one who did. We had 
one of them ia the night, but unfortunately I was asleep 
in my berth ia the bark, and neither felt nor heard it. In 
the town the iohabitants left their houses in great haste, 
and fled to the square. The shock was not very heavy, 
and no damage was done. This town, and indeed the 
whole western coast of South America, and North America 



AN EXCURSION. 83 

as far as California, are subject to frequent earthquakes, 
some of which have caused unmense destiniction of hves 
and property. Talcahuana was destro^^ed by one of these 
convulsions in 1835, every building but two having been 
thrown down. The city of Concepcion, nine miles distant, 
was also greatly injm-ed. 

July 9. I had intended to take a ride to Concepcion, of 
which Talcahuana is the port, but being told that the roads 
were very muddy, the country flat and uninteresting, and the 
city dull and but httle superior to Talcahuana in point of ele- 
gance, I gave up the visit; and therefore having httle to 
do to-day, I obtained peimission of the captain of the 
port to go gunning. He cautioned me not to discharge 
my gun in the town, or even to load it here. On leavmg 
the town I passed up a gorge between two steep hills, at 
the foot of which were a dozen huts filled with Chilians 
and dogs. A little brook ran through the valley, and sev- 
eral women and giiis were employed in washing clothes in 
it. There was no room for a road, nor any need of one, 
and the httle foot path was all they requii'ed in then- com- 
munication with the village. I chmbed the hill, and looked 
down the gorge. The scene was very i^retty, and if I 
could have fancied a dozen neat cottages in place of these 
thatched mud huts, it would have been beautifully pictm-- 
esque. 

I passed over several steep hills, and down then- sides 
through thickets of bushes and vines, all new to me; but 
without procuring any birds but a hawk. I saw several 
small birds that were strangers tome; but none that pleased 
me so much as the sight of one of our Amencan robins. 
It gave a fi'esh impulse to my thoughts, and sent them at 
once to my far distant home. I was half disposed to think 
that I had seen this identical robin in some of my rambles 
in the fields and woods at home, and that it had flown this 



84 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

long distance, bearing a message of love from my dear 
child. 

After crossing several hills, I came at last to one, whose al- 
most perpendicular sides overlooked an extensive marsh, 
which was bounded on one side by a bay, whose waters rolled 
u}) a broad beach of dark bro^ii sand. Immense numbers 
of sea bii'ds were hovering over this beach, but I could 
not approach them within gunshot. I passed a considera- 
ble number of huts at the foot of the hill. There were 
seldom less than two or thi-ee dogs aroimd them, and 
sometimes more, besides women and childi'en enough to 
fill them. The dogs seemed rather vicious, and often 
attacked me ; but I easily di'ove them off except in one 
instance, when I was suiTOunded by three or fom^ larger, 
and particularly ferocious ones, and had to swing my gun 
round pretty smaiily, and was on the point of discharging 
it at them, when the women of the house came out and 
called them off. 

I observed many beds of shells scattered over the marsh 
and beach, and collected several veiy pretty specimens, 
but found them too much decayed to be worth biinging 
away. There was also an abundance of these shells im- 
bedded in the sides of the hills, and from the state of 
preservation in which they are found, there can be no 
doubt the com-idsion which uj^heaved these hills must have 
been of a comparatively recent date. 

I retm-ned to the \illage in season to dine, which I did 
at the Tremont House. Upwards of twenty of oiu- ship's 
company sat at the table. We had an excellent bill of fai'e, 
and I made a rich meal from a pie made of the little doves 
I had seen the day before. 

After dinner I went to the warehouse of a rich old 
Scotchman to buy some wine to use as a substitute for 
tea and coffee dimnp: the residue of our vovage. This 



I 



^.V AFFECTING INCIDENT. 85 

is a weak ™ie, manufactiu'ed by liimself, and is, as lie 
says, the pui-e juice of the gTape. A connoisseiu' in wines 
would not value it very higlily, and indeed, it is not much 
better than old cider; but mixed with w^ater and sugar, I 
find it rather a pleasant beverage. I bought several gal- 
lons at forty cents per gallon. This Scotchman had a 
peculiar sense of his own dignity, which would not permit 
him to wait on his customers; and I was amused to see 
him walk about the room mth a very consequential 
air, while I filled my bottles from his cask. He received 
my accoimt of the quantity I had dra^vTi mthout inquiiy 
as to its correctness, and mth the greatest indifference. 

A j^art of our company returned to the ship at night, 
but many of them tarried on shore in the enjoyment of 
such dehghts as the town readil}^ supphed. Unfortunately 
two of the gentlemen ha^ang imbibed a larger quan- 
tity of aguardiente than prudence would seem to have dic- 
tated, and oblivious of the distance that sej^arated them 
fi'om the "land of the free and the home of the brave," 
indulged in a larger liberty than the regulations of the 
place pennitted, and were rather ignominiously accommo- 
dated with lodgings in a calaboose, for which they were 
charged two dollars each on being hberated in the morn- 
ing. 

One of our men, an Irishman, while fishing fi'om the 
side of the bark, hooked up rather a queer fish — nothing 
less than a Chilian musket. It was in a tolertible state of 
^^reservation, though rather rusty. He scoui'ed it up, and 
made a ver}^ respectable piece of it. 

An affecting incident occurred on shore during our stay 
here. Stephen Pierce, one of our passengers, had a 
brother somewhere in the Pacific Ocean for many j^ears; 
and four years had elapsed since he had heard from him. 
He was than at Juan Fernandez. It was in part a slight 



86 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

hope of finding his brother, that induced Mr. Pierce to 
undertake this voyage. On his arrival at Talcahuana he 
began to make inquiiies for him; and strangely enough the 
first man to whom he spoke on the subject, was an acquaint- 
ance of his brother's, and informed him that his brother 
had died fouiieen months before in this "vdllage, and that 
his widow, who was a Chilian and a native of Talcahuana, 
whom he had found and mamed at Juan Fernandez, still 
hved here. He accompanied Mr. Pierce to the dwelling of 
the widow, introduced them, and acted as interpreter be- 
tween them ; for she had learned nothing of the Enghsh 
language. She was a very pretty woman of only eighteen 
years. The meeting was exceedingly affecting. But little 
time was necessary to satisfy the young widow of the iden- 
tity of Mr. Pierce as the brother of her deceased husband, 
when she threw herself upon his neck, and the tears of 
the bereaved wife and brother were mingled in soitow and 
sympathy at this renewed remembrance of theii' lost rela- 
tive. She wept long and bitterly. After a long interview, 
Mr. Pierce took leave. But he repeated his visit to-day, 
and the widow accompanied him to the grave of his brother. 
She was deeply moved, for she had loved her husband with 
a strong affection. Her mother and other relatives man- 
ifested the kindest and most affectionate regard for Mr. 
Pierce, and this last interview, as well as the foi*mer, was 
one of intense interest. After ha\ing prolonged his stay 
to the last moment, he bade adieu to these new found rela- 
tives, never in all probability to meet again on eaiih. 

July 10. We were much disappointed in the fruit mar- 
ket in Talcahuana. There was nothing to be obtained but 
some apples of an inferior qualit}', tasteless and thick- 
skinned, and walnuts. I laid in a stock of walnuts, which 
I found very useful. Had we arrived two months earlier, we 
would have found a lot of pears, peaches, grapes, &c. 



FAREWELL TO TALCAHUANA. 87 

Captain J, having completed taking in his stores, con- 
sisting of fresh beef, potatoes, flour, beans, oil, wood and 
water, weighed anchor at noon, and stood out of the harbor 
with a hght, but fair wind. We were all ready to go, and 
no one betrayed any impatience at the shortness of our 
stay, or any wish to prolong the visit. We had seen enough 
of Talcahuana, and animated with a hojDe of a sj^eed}' and 
prosperous tennination of oui' voyage, we left the coast of 
Chili meiiily singing: 

"Hi— o, and away we go, 
Digging up gold in Francisco." 

We had a pleasant sail for several days, and nothing of 
importance occuiTed to mar our pleasures until the four- 
teenth of July, when Mr. Johnson met the passengers in 
the main cabin for the pui-pose of explaining his conduct 
in his quarrels with Juha S. He was heard very attentively 
in an address, in which he attempted to justify his conduct 
in every instance. Miss S. rephed to hun, contradicting 
some of his statements, and explaimng others. Captain J. 
took paii; in the discussion, but his remarks were not cal- 
culated to restore harmon}-. Nothing was effected by the 
meeting, no new facts were ehcited or old ones explained, 
and no change was wrought in any one's opinion. 

July 17. I have another unpleasant occurrence to re- 
cord. A robbery was pei-petrated in the cooks' galle}' last 
night, and about a hundi'ed cakes of soft-tack stolen. It 
was reported to Captain J., who came into the after house 
and threatened to put iis on hard-tack again. Many mita- 
ting words passed between him and some of the passen- 
gers, and he became so exasperated against one of them, that 
he seized him by the collar. There was gi-eat excitement 
aU over the ship. In the height of the quaiTel, Stephen 
Walker called on Captain J. and offered to find the bread 



88 ROUND CAPE HORN, 

if tlie captain would send a man witli liim to make search. 
The first mate was dii-ected to accompany him, and in a 
few minutes the bread was found in the forecastle among 
the sailors, and the excitement was soon quieted. The 
captain transferred his wrath fi-om the passengers to the 
sailors, and ordered the cooks not to serve any more soft- 
tack to them until they should inform agaiost the thief, 
w^hich they will be in no haste to do. It was a needless 
theft, for since we left Talcahuana they had a full allow- 
ance, that is, two and sometimes three cakes once a dayj 
which is all that is allowed the passengers. 

My excellent fiiends, Captain J. and Mrs. L 1, have 

volunteered some very disinterested advice on the subject 
of my journal, and have erJightened me on the difficult 
question, what is proper, or rather, what is not proper, to 
record in it. ]\Ii's. L 1 thinks that all the httle squab- 
bles and disputes we have had, and aU the scandal that 
has been so rife among us, would be improper subjects to 
record, and would prove uninteresthig to the reader. She 
was desu'ous to know if my journal was intended for pub- 
Hcation, and spoke very earnestly on the impropriety of 
giving the names of persons. I rephed that my journal 
was nothing more than a letter, a long letter to my daugh- 
ter, and was wiitten for her amusement; that I did not 
intend it for publication, though some poiiions of it, might 
perhaps be made into articles for the newspapers; that as 
to what is improper to record in a journal, there was a 
gi'eat difference of opinion, and every one must judge for 
himself; and that many events of an unpleasant nature 
were to be fomid m every book of travels, and they very 
often proved interesting to the general reader. I remarked 
that thovigh a gi'eat many books of voyages and travels had 
been pubhshed, no one had yet given to the pubhc an 
account of the pleasures and j^ains, the comforts and dis- 



DISINTERESTED ADVICE. 



89 



comforts of a passenger- shii) round Cape Horn, and tliat 
I thought such an account might be received with favor by 
the reading pubhc, but that in such an account, the -^vo- 
propriety of giving the names of persons would depend 
on cii'cumstances. 

As for CajDtain J., he didn't care what was said about 
him; he was independent; but he didn't want the slan- 
ders that were going about in the ship to get home to his 
wife, though he was not afraid but what he could satisfy 
her about them when he got home. He hoped I would 
not say any thing about them, and ended with a general 
threat intended -to intimidate me. I made no reply to 

him, except that J had said nothing of him or Mrs. L 1 

in my joui-nal, wliich it would be necessaiy to expunge or 
alter. 




CHAPTEE X. 

Religious Services — A Beautiful Bird — Departure of Cape Pigeons and 
Albatrosses — Stormy Petrels — Amusements — Harmony among tlie Passen- 
gers — Mrs. L 1 and her Child — Violence of Captain J.— Our Chaplain 

turns Poet — Captain J.'s rest disturbed by the Passengers — He threat^ens to 
blow them through — Sugar —Petty Annoyances — A Bag Baby — Our Chap- 
lain and his Eevolver — Change of "Weather — Uncomfortable Condition of the 
Main Cabin — Theft of Raisins — Ship's Stores — Gross Negligence — Great 
"Waste of Scouse. 

MULY IS. Mr. Johnson preached to a very small 
congregation to-day. The prejudice against him 
still continues very strong. He continues to justify 
his quarrel with Julia S., though he is opposed by the 
imanimous opinion of the passengers, -who think that in 
striking Juha "when she thre"w the stick of wood at him 
he violated that beautiful precept of Christ, "But I say 
unto you that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall 
smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." 
They consider such a quarrel at such a time to be a shame- 
ful desecration of the Sabbath, and a disgrace to himself. 

There was also a prayer-meeting in the afternoon. 
Among others, Captain J. gave an exhortation, in the 
course of which he acknowledged that he had not always 
performed his duty as a Christian during the voyage, 
asked pardon of the passengers for any wrongs he had 
done them, and promised to use his exertions to make 
them more comfortable during the remainder of the voy- 
age. 

July 20. Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn in longitude 
85° 1' west. 



ALBATROSSES AND OTHER BIRDS 91 

July 25. I have been watching a fine bird of a new 
species — I mean new to me. As it flew round the ship, 
seeking for a place to ahght, I had a pretty good oppor- 
tunity to examine it. It was about two-thirds as large as 
the domestic goose, and had a straight, pointed bill. 
Excepting the feathers of the wings and tail, which were 
of a dark gray or slate color, every other part of the bird, 
including the head, neck, back and breast, the upper and 
under wing coverts, and tail coverts were of a pui*e glossy 
white. I have rarely seen so beautiful a bird. 

Our very intimate friends, the Cape Pigeons, have sud- 
denly taken leave. There were a considerable number of 
them around the ship yesterday; to-day not one is left. 
Will you smile, dear • reader, if I tell you that a slight 
shade of melancholy passes over me at the departure of 
these pretty birds, which have been our constant and 
familiar companions during two months, which have fol- 
lowed us from Brazil to Chili, round the stormy Cape, 
feeding on the little scraps of food we have thrown them, 
amusing us by their chattering and scrambling for the 
precious morsels, which they seemed to expect from us. 

The albatrosses left us soon after our departure from 
Talcahuana. My attempts to secure some of them, have 
as you have seen, been defeated. It has been a vexatious 
disappointment to me, and my fellow-passengers often 
express their regret at it, and their contempt for the little- 
ness of Captain Jackson. 

The place of the Cape Pigeons is occupied by a little 
unassuming bird, in which I always feel much interest — 
a little thing of dull plumage and no pretensions to beauty. 
I mean the Stormy Petrel. The one we find here differs 
from those on the coast of the United States, being 
smaller and of a lighter plumage. It follows us in con- 
siderable numbers, and is quite gentle, coming close to 



92 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

the ship, and betraying very little fear of us. It does not 
patter tlie water with its feet, as our petrels do, but it has 
a singular habit of thrusting out one foot as it flies along, 
dipping it into the water, and describing a line on the 
surface sometimes two or three feet long. 

July 27. Since leaving Talcahuana our men have found 
a new amusement for the occupation of their minds, and 
the exercise of their ingenuity. We took on board some 
wood from that port, resembling mahogany in color. Out 
of this wood the passengers have employed themselves in 
cutting out a variety of articles, such as seals for letters, 
hollow spools for thread and needles, little boxes, knife 
handles, heads for canes, and many other things. It is 
amusing to witness the spirit with which all, young and 
old, with few exceptions, enter into this business. The 
decks are covered every day with their whittlings, and 
every stick of wood that can be used, is eagerly seized and 
aj^propriated. 

July 28. It is often said, that in long voyages, there 
commonly grows up a feeling of disgust and ill-will among 
the passengers towards each other, and that they become 
morose and quarrelsome, the natural consequence of the 
tedious mono'touy of the voyage, and the sameness and 
w^ant of variety on board ship. I cannot say that our 
voyage thus far verifies the assertion; for though we 
have had innumerable quarrels, there has been generally 
a very good state of feeling among the passengers. This 
may, perhaps, be accounted for by the attitude of antag- 
onism in which Captain J. placed himself towards us at 
the commencement of the voyage, (and in which he has 
continued ever since,) that may have rendered it necessary 
as a means of defence, for the passengers to maintain 
harmony and union among themselves. This necessity 
seems to increase as we approach the termination of the 



I 



INSULTING CONDUCT. 93 

voyage, in consequence of the outrageous outbursts of 
passion, in which the captain indulges on every occasion, 
and which on every fresh occasion becomes more and more 
ungovernable. I have spoken of the ascendency which 

Mrs. L t'has obtained over him. Her influence has 

continued to increase, until she has got him entirely under 
her control. Shehasanoisy,ill-tempered,mischievous child, 
about four years old, whom she keeps a great portion of 
the time in our room in the after house, and who, as well 
as her mother is exceedingly annoying to us. We have 
renwnstrated with Captain J. against this intrusion, but 
our remonstrance has onlj' increased the evil, and now, 
from early morning till bed-time, the two are constant 
occupants of our cabin. Encouraged by the support she 
receives from Captain J. she has become very supercilious 
and insulting. On one occasion I removed her child 
from our door, where she was doing some mischief, when 
she began to berate me in very passionate language. But 
I made no reply to her. This only increased her rage; 
and she talked still more abusively. Getting vexed my- 
self, I began to whistle. Worse and worse. I remarked 
that it was growing warm in this room, and she became 
furious. But having exhausted herself and receiving no 
rej)ly to her tirade, she soon desisted. But now came the 
captain's turn. He had lain in his berth and listened to 

Mrs. L t's eloquence, and became highly exasperated 

against me. So leaving his berth, he commenced a fu- 
rious attack on me, using the most abusive language, and 
uttering many threats of violence. I replied in such 
language as I thought the occasion required, and I be- 
lieve the valorous captain received very little satisfaction. 
July 29. Our chaplain has been courting the muses. 
Attacked with a severe fit of inspiration, he has for some 
time past been engaged in writing a poem. The subject, 



94 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

which is well calculated for the display of his poetical 
genius, is "The Voyage of the James W. Paige." He 
honored us with a public reading of a portion of the 
poem on deck this afternoon. It did not receive that 
applause it merited in the opinion of the author, for his 
audience were incapable of appreciating the rich beauties 
of the poem, and could not distinguish Mr. Johnson's 
poetry from ordinary prose. Much of the poem was 
made up of commendations of Captain J. and of censures 
of the owners of the bark. 

We had a clear, moonlight night, and several of the 
passengers, male and female, were on deck till a late hour. 
There was much noise among them, which disturbed the 
-captain. He went out three times and ordered them off 
the house. The last time he was in a great passion, and 
swore that if God spared his life he would blow them 
through the next time they disobeyed his orders. The 
noise was stopped, and order, but not peace, restored. 
The passengers were much to blame, though their diso- 
bedience arose from heedlessness rather than from any 
intentional disrespect to the captain. But this threat to 
shoot them rankles in their bosoms. 

Sherman caught a large porpoise. 

July 31. Being prohibited the use of butter, or fat of 
any sort, or molasses, to eat with our bread, and having 
but a little apple-sauce doled out to us once a week, I 
have occasionally dissolved a spoonful of sugar to give a 
relish to my dry bread, and this morning the mate ordered 
the steward to remove the sugar-bowl. This order getting 
to the ears of the ladies, I have been bountifully supplied 
by them from a cask of very nice sugar in their cabin. 
This sugar was bought at Rio Janiero by Captain J. for 

the special benefit of Mrs. L 1. I mention this little 

fact as a specimen of the petty annoyances to which we 






PETTY ANNO YANGES. 95 

are constantly subjected by the captain and first mate, and 
of the friendly favors of which I have been the constant 
recipient from all the ladies, with one exception, during 
the voyage. 

To-day we crossed the equator in about the 108th de- 
gree of west longitude. 

August 4. A little affair came off this morning, in 
which the dignity and magnanimity of Captain J. were 
conspicuously displayed. Loud words were heard in the 
ladies' cabin at breakfast time between the captain, and 

Mrs. L 1 and Miss Julia S. And what, reader, do you 

think was the subject of the dispute ? A rag baby ! It 
appears that Miss Julia had made the baby for a little 
child of another passenger. It was seen this morning 

floating astern, and Miss S. supposed that Mrs. L t's 

child had thrown it overboard. High words grew out of 
it. The captain, ever ready, threw himself into the breach 
between his dear friend and her opponent, and as we sat 
in our cabin we overheard the voice of this magnanimous 
commander of the ship raised in loud and angry debate 
about a rag baby ! 

Our chaplain, Mr. Johnson, has had the precaution to 
take one of Colt's revolvers with him. He evidently is 
opposed to the doctrine of non-resistance, and is not in- 
clined to yield up his life or his purse without a show, at 
least, of defence. His fellow-passengers, however, have 
not a very exalted opinion of his personal courage; and 
the fact that he has struck a woman in a quarrel, tends 
strongly to increase their doubts. Some little excitement 
prevails among us in consequence of a report that he has 
lent his revolver to Captain J., who wants it for the pur- 
pose of carrying his threat against his noisy passengers 
into execution. Mr. Johnson has been questioned about 
it, but he gives an evasive answer. We have a natural 



96 ROUND CAPE HORN, 

repugnance to being blo"wn up, and cannot entertain 
a very friendly regard for the minister of peace, and man 
of mercy, who shall allow himself to become accessory to 
such a tragical termination of our adventures. 

August 6. We have thus far had a fine run from Tal- 
cahuana. Soon after leaving that port, we struck the 
south-east trade-winds, and for nearly three weeks we 
have sailed before an easy breeze, with our studding sails 
set, and have scarcely altered a sail during the whole 
time. This has been a season of rest for the sailors, who 
have had some hard work to perform in the course of the 
voyage, and whose labors have borne harder on them in 
consequence of their ignorance of the duties pertaining 
to a square-rigged vessel. They had all, I was told, with 
one exception, shipped as ordinary seamen, though some 
of them had been fraudulently entered as able seamen. 

But now we are beginning to find a change of weather 
and variable winds. The atmosphere has become very 
hot, and heavy showers of rain are pouring down upon 
us. There is also considerable thunder, though we have 
had but few heavy peals. The wind is light and continu- 
ally veering from point to point. We are apprehensive of 
being becalmed, and feel not a little impatience and anx- 
iety at every unfavorable change of the weather. 

Our ship is uncomfortable enough in any climate or 
weather with her crowd of passengers; but it is peculiarly 
so in this Torrid Zone. At the request of an old man, 
Mr. Carlow, I have been down to take a look at the main 
cabin. I found the air very hot and oppressive, and I 
was soon covered with perspiration. Some portions of 
the room were dark, there being no means of lighting it, 
but by the hatches and a few little dead-lights in the 
deck. They were now prohibited the use of the lamps ■ 
they had made for themselves, because the smoke was 



GBOSS NEGLIGENCE. 97 

found to annoy Mrs. L 1, into whose state-room a por- 
tion of it escaped. The only ventilation which this cabin 
received, was also through the hatches, and that was ob- 
structed by the houses that were built over them. The 
floor was damp and dirty, and I was told that it had never 
been cleansed but by the passengers themselves. An of- 
fensive odor filled the room, which was to be expected 
from the number of the occupants, and the want of ven- 
tilation. There were twenty-eight berths in this cabin, 
occupied by fifty-two passengers. It was impossible for 
them all to pass the hot nights in such a stifling atmos- 
phere, and the poor old man's eyes moistened as he told 
me that he was obliged to leave his berth, and pass his 
nights wherever he could find a place to rest on deck. 

August 9. Captain J. has just discovered that a cask 
and a half, or one hundred and fifty pounds of raisins 
have been abstracted from the store-room. He has made 
rigid inquiries, but has not elicited any evidence against 
the purloiners; nor is there any probability that he will. 
The excuse for this theft seems to have been, that a cask 
of raisins had been previously opened for the use of the 
occupants of the ladies' cabin, and it was thought that 
justice required a more equal distribution of them among 
the whole ship's company. 

There has been gross negligence in the care of the ship's 
stores, and great waste and loss of many articles of pro- 
visions, which should have been used. A few days since 
an examination was ordered, and three casks of decayed 
potatoes, that had been shipped at Frankfort, were dis- 
covered and thrown overboard. Many messes, which 
have been cooked up for the passengers in the course of 
the voyage, and which they could not eat, however hungry 
they may have been, have been disposed of in the same 
manner. How many pans of the richest sort of scouse 



98 



ROUND CAPE HORN. 



the birds and the fishes are indebted to the bark James 
"W. Paige for, it is impossible to tell. Much of the oil 
has been carelessly wasted, and many a long evening has 
been passed in the dark for want of it. 




CHAPTER XI. 

An Arbitrary Prohibition — Card Playing and Checker Playing — Dancing — 
Treachery of Mr. Johnson — Some Passengers — A Comical Character, and a 
Pugnacious Character — A Beautiful Bird — Closing the Hatches — A Question 
of Jurisdiction — The Hatches Re-opened — A Sudden Transfonnation — Neg- 
lected Duties of the Chaplain — His Influence with the Captain. 

MHA.VE spoken of the amusement the passengers have 
had in makmg wooden trinkets from the wood taken 
on board at Talcahuana. The captain and first mate 
have been made the recipients of many of these toys; but 
to-day they have issued an order prohibiting any further 
manufacture of them. The passengers all remonstrated 
against the arbitrary order, but were obliged to submit; 
for the captain has control of the wood. 

One of the principal sources of amusement during the 
voyage has been card playing. It has helped many, who 
had no other occupation or source of amusement, to pass 
their time pleasantly; and to others it has proved an 
agreeable relaxation. Much mischief has doubtless been 
prevented by it, and many a quarrel avoided. I have not 
heard of an unpleasant dispute or altercation" from card 
playing since we set sail, though there are seldom less than 
six or eight companies engaged in it during the pleasant 
weather. Several packs of cards were included in my out- 
fit, but though I have not, in a single instance, had occa- 
sion to use them myself, they have nevertheless, done good 
service. Captain J. has often threatened to break up this 
wicked amusement, but I think he has not dared to at- 
tempt it. Though very strong in his denunciations of 



100 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

card playing, there are other games which meet his ap- 
probation. He has himself made a checker-board, and 
spends many a leisure moment in playing checkers with 
Mrs. L 1. 

Still another source of amusement with many of the 
passengers is dancing. "We have two fiddlers on board 
the ship, and are therefore well supplied with the neces- 
sary music. There is a space between the two houses 
covering a few square feet, and another space still smaller 
between the forward house and the windlass, where a 
small number of i^ersons can crowd through a figure in a 
dance, and these spaces have been sometimes used for that 
purpose. I have attempted to take this kind of exercise, 
but in such a circumscribed space and such a rolling ball- 
room, I have found the amusement any thing but amusing. 

From what I have already recorded of Mr. Johnson, it 
will be seen that he has been guiltj^ of some indiscretions 
(to call them by no harsher name) that are not very credit- 
able to him as a man or a Christian. I have now to state 
a fact, which proves him to be destitute of common hon- 
esty. At his particular request I had lent him several 
sheets of my journal, in which were some passages reflect- 
ing on the conduct of Captain J. and the first mate. These 
passages, he gave me his word, should not be repeated 
nor revealed. I heard no more about it for several days 
and until last night, when the reverend gentleman came 
deliberately to me, and said, that considering all the cir- 
cumstances of the case, he felt it his duty, notwithstanding 
his promise, to repeat those obnoxious passages to the 
captain and mate. He asked me if I had any objection. 
I replied that it could answer no good purpose; that he 
very well knew that the captain had repeatedly threatened 
me with personal violence, and this would only serve to 
increase his rage, and, perhaps, furnish him with a pretext 



MB. JOHNSON'S TREACHERY. 101 

for putting his threats into execution; and that I would 
not consent to the disclosure. To all my remonstances 
he only replied that his duty impelled him to the course 
he was about to pursue, and that his conscience would no 
longer permit him to remain silent. So he left me to per- 
form his duty and quiet his conscience by breaking his 
word and violating his promise, and making a revelation, 
which could answer no other purpose than to make mis- 
chief, to increase a personal animosity, which was already 
bitter enough, to prolong a quarrel which it should have 
been his duty as a Christian minister to allay, and to 
stir up strife when he should have endeavored to promote 
conciliation. "Blessed are the peace-makers." 

It will be thought that we have a jumble of strange 
characters in our company, and so indeed we have. Per- 
haps I have occupied too much space with the bad por- 
tion of them. Perhaps, too, I have attached too much 
importance to the little scrapes and wrangles, of which I 
have given so many accounts. One might suppose that 
I had treasured up every quarrel that has occurred dur- 
ing the voyage, and that I delighted in telling them. But 
it is not so. I would give a correct impression of the 
voyage, its pleasures and pains; and the record of a 
portion of our disputes is necessary to this end. But I 
have omitted more than I have recorded, and I have 
related others in the fewest words into which I could 
condense them. 

In addition to the ladies whose names have appeared in 
the progress of this narrative, is Mrs. A. G. B., who is go- 
ing to join her husband in Stockton. She is a very quiet, 
and I believe a religious woman. She passes a great part 
of her time in her state-room, and keeps entirely aloof 
from all the bickerings that are of such frequent occur- 
rence in the ladies' cabin. She comes on deck after supper 



102 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

to take the air, I have occasionally passed an hour very 
agreeably with her, enjoying a pleasant sunset and twi- 
light, or talking of friends at home. Her daughter Mary 
is a pretty girl of seventeen, who reads French, and has 
a variety of accomplishments. Mrs. B. has two sons on 
board, one a boy, and the other, a married man, whose 
wife and daughter, a sprightly little girl of three years, 
accompany him. 

One of the passengers in the main cabin is a deaf-mute, 
Elisha Osgood, a cabinet-maker. He gave our chaplain a 
mild reproof for his belligerent propensities a few days 
since. Learning that Mr. J. had a revolver, he proposed 
to buy it, Mr. J. refused to sell it; whereupon Osgood 
WTote upon his slate, "You had better sell your revolver, 
and buy a bible." 

Mr. Gardner, the second mate, is a clever fellow, and is 
endowed with much more intelligence than the first mate, 
and is more popular with the passengers and crew, though 
far from being a favorite with the captain. 

There is a quiet good-natured fellow among us, by the 
name of John F. Dolliff, who loves sport, and is a practi- 
cal joker. He is possessed of kind, humane feelings withal, 
and I am indebted to him for many a glass of lemonade, 
given me in the former part of our voyage, at a time when 
I was suffering the most tormenting thirst from seasick- 
ness. Dolliff 's voice bears a great resemblance to that of 
Captain J., which has given rise to some sport among 
us. He sometimes orders the stewards to trim the lamp 
in the binnacle, calls out to the man at the wheel to tell 
him how the ship heads, and gives a variety of orders, 
which are generally obeyed. One dark night, after the 
captain had turned in, he put on his — the captain's — coat 
and hat, and walked out. He called to the mate, asked sev- 
eral questions about the wind and weather, which were all 



T. W. DOLLIFF AND THE BULLY. 103 

respectfully answered, and then directed him to reef the 
top- sails. This order, absurd enough under the circumstan- 
ces, was not given in nautical style, and while the perplexed 
mate hesitated, some one who was in the secret laughed, 
and betrayed the joke. 

T. W. Dolliff, a cousin of the above-named, is, or rather 
was, the most pugnacious man among us, though he ex- 
hibited no indications of his pugnacity on board the bark. 
He was said to be pretty well covered wdth scars, which he 
had received in numerous combats. At Talcahuana he fell in 
with a bully, who was imbued with a great hatred of Yan- 
kees, and who challenged any and all who were present to 
fight him. Dolliff had not had a fight for many months, 
and was really pining for a little amusement of that sort. 
This opportunity to indulge in his favorite recreation was 
too good to be lost, and he readily accepted the challenge. 
A Httle space in the room was cleared for the combatants. 
They took their places, and after a moment's maneuvering, 
the fellow made a pass at Dolliff, which he parried, and 
at the same instant he dealt him a blow that laid him 
sprawling on the floor. The bully got up and ])repared 
for a second encounter, which ended in the same manner. 
Unwilling to yield, he made a third attempt, and a third 
time he measured his length upon the floor, when he 
wisely gave up the contest, acknowledged the superiority 
of the Yankee, and treated the company. 

Within three weeks Dolliff has been attacked with rheu- 
matic pains attended with fever, which have laid him up- 
He has been removed from the main cabin, where he must 
have died, had he remained there, and a berth has been 
provided for him in our i-oom. Every thing that can be, is 
done to make him comfortable; but our ship is badly sup- 
plied with necessaries for the sick. He will, in all proba- 
bility, have a lingering illness, and he must be taken to a 



104 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

hospital in San Francisco, California, of which he has a 
great dread. 

August 1-4. One of our passengers, Mr. Gould, has 
generously treated us to a rich pound-cake. His wife 
made it in Bangor. It was put into a tin box and sol- 
dered up, and on being opened, was found as fresh and 
sweet as when first baked. 

August 15. No religious services to-day. There are 
many conjectures as to the cause of this omission of his 
duty by our chaplain, the most plausible of which is, his 
consciousness of the strong disgust which his recent 
treachery, falsehood, and attempt at mischief-making have 
excited. 

"We occasionally see a beautiful bird making its flight 
high above us, but seldom coming near the ship. Its 
plumage as seen at a distance is pure white, its head 
resembles that of a dove, its neck slender and delicate, 
and wdth a tail composed of two long, pointed, and flow- 
ing white feathers, and wings long and slender, it floats 
through the air with a gracefulness peculiar to itself, and 
excelling that of any other bird I have seen. This is the 
Tropic Bird, (Phceton phcenicurus. ) The long taper tail 
feathers have given the sailors a hint for a name, and 
they call it " The Marlin-spike. " 

August 17. Crossed the Tropic of Cancer in longitude 
127° west. The mate signalized the day by closing the 
hatches over the main cabin. The reason assigned for this 
act was a quarrel at breakfast between an Irishman and 
one of the stewards, which disturbed the mate's repose. 
Much excitement prevailed in consequence of this act, 
and the fifty men shut up in that "black hole" remon- 
strated against the injustice of being punished for a little 
squabble, in which only two of their number were en- 
gaged. Finding their arguments were of no avail with 



DOUBTFUL JURISDICTION. 105 

the mate, they carried their case to the captain. To their 
remonstrances he replied that this case was beyond his 
control; that he commanded the after-part of the ship, 
and the mate' the forward part; that this hatchway, being 
in the mate's room, was under his sole command; and 
that he, the captain, had no more authority to order it to 
be taken off, than the mate had to command him on the 
quarter-deck. All this appeared very much like nonsense 
to our land lubbers, who doubted if the maritime law 
recognized a division of authority, which seemed to them 
so utterly absurd and ridiculous. At this point of the 
discussion, Mr. Tyler, one of the passengers, remarked 
that he had hitherto kept aloof from all the wrangles we 
had had, but that he should not remain quiet under this 
arbitrary act. He assured the captain that if the hatches 
were not removed, there would be a greater row than we 
had ever witnessed on board this bark. But neither the 
captain nor mate would make any concession, and it was 
determined by the passengers that they should have no 
sleep as long as the cause of their disquiet remained. 
There was a prospect of a stormy night between decks, 
and extensive preparations were made for a musical con- 
cert, which would not have been very conducive to slum- 
ber, when our brave officers, thinking they would find the 
contest an unequal one, suddenly and wisely resolved to 
remove the hatches, the consequence of which was an 
immediate restoration of peace. 

August 22. A sudden and wonderful transformation 
has been wrought in our chaplain. From being very 
reserved in his intercourse with the passengers, he has all 
at once become exceedingly familiar. I have been sur- 
prised within two or three days past to see him engaged 
in high frolics with the men, scuffling, knocking off hats, 
throwing ropes over the men's heads, running and jump- 



106 BOUND CAPE HORN. 



Lchf 



iug like a boy over the houses and decks, and playing 
hundred capers and pranks, which have attracted much 
attention, and excited not a little ridicule throughout the 
ship. The cause of this sudden change in the good par- 
son is so palpable, that very few do not understand it; and 
the lost popularity he is so desirous to win back will 
scarcely be recovered by this means. His duties as our 
chaplain, which have never been arduous, are now wholly 
neglected; and well they may be, for very few will listen 
to him. He began his labors with us after the first two 
or three stormy weeks, with a prayer once a week, besides 
a sermon on Sundays. These were well attended, a large 
majority of our company being present. After a lapse of 
several weeks, the week-day prayer was omitted. Then 
the Sunday service was suspended for a time in conse- 
quence of his fight with Julia S. He attempted to renew 
his meetings in the main cabin, but received a hint that 
his services would not l)e acceptable to the occupants of 
that part of the ship. However, when warm weather 
returned he preached on the house-top, though to very 
small audiences, until the perpetration of his treachery 
with me, which has brought such a load of odium upon 
him, that he has not dared to attempt to preach since. He 
has pjroved an artful and dishonest man, and has exercised 
a pernicious influence over our weak-minded and ignorant 
captain, and has been his counsellor, adviser and supporter 
in nearly all the quarrels in which he has been engaged 
with his passengers. That his influence in this bark is 
confined to the captain, a single fact will prove. He 
some time since got up a certificate for signatures, the 
purport of which was to plaster over Mrs. L t's con- 
duct. Not a passenger would sign it. 







CHAPTER XII. 

Head "Windg — The Dusky Albatross — Tacking Ship — Fishing for Birds — 
Amusements of the Mate and Passengers— A Poet— Fair Winds— A Porpoise— 
A Fight in the Main Cabin — My Journal — Opinions of Mr. Johnson —Meet- 
ing in the Main Cabin — Schools of Porpoises — Narrow Escape from Ship- 
wreck — An Act of Charity. 

XJG UST 24. Our voyage is becoming prolonged to 
an excessively wearisome duration. More than a 
month ago we calculated on arriving at San Fran- 
cisco in ten days; and with a fair wind we could have 
performed the voyage in that time. Now, after having 
trebled it, we seem as far from port as ever. During the 
last fortnight the winds have been blowing from the north- 
east, and we have sailed sharp on the wind, in expectation 
of falling in with the north-west trades, which are said to 
prevail in these latitudes. But we have not yet found 
them. We are now about nine hundred miles west of the 
coast of California, and in a latitude only four degrees 
north of that of San Francisco. We have not seen a sail 
for six weeks, and we begin to feel that we are 

" Alone, alone, all, all alone, 
Alone on the wide, wide sea." 

And yet, we are not quite alone. A small number of 
my friends, the birds, still hover around us, and accom- 
pany us in our wanderings over the deep, even at this 
great distance from the land. A few days since an alba- 
tross was seen flying near us. I watched it and soon saw 
that it was the Dusky Albratross, (Diomedia fusca,) fig- 
ured by Audubon from a specimen obtained by Dr. Town- 



108 ROUND CAFE HORN. 

send on tlie coast of Oregon. It was soon joined by 
another and another, and to-day, six or eight of them are 
following us. 

"We suffer much weariness, lassitude, and drowsiness, 
consequent on our long voyage and almost total inactivity. 
One circumstance has operated very favorably for our 
comfort. After less than a week of the hot weather of 
which I have spoken, there came a sudden and most 
agreeable change. The sky became obscured with clouds, 
and has remained so the greater part of the time since, 
and the air grew cooler, so much so that our overcoats 
became necessary, and the passengers, who had been 
driven from the main cabin, were enabled to return to 
their berths again. 

August 27. Our first inquiry this morning was the 
same we have often and anxiously made of late, " How 
does she head ? " And the same answer we have received 
for the last fortnight was given, "About north- west." 
The wind, however, was light, and we were not quite 
hopeless of a change. An hour or two was passed in 
watching the signs, for the weather had become very un- 
steady — when we heard from the captain, who had taken 
the helm, the order, "Ready, 'bout." The sound was 
most cheering. We had been standing on one course for 
a long time without making any appx'oach towards our 
destined port, but rather going farther from it, and striv- 
ing the while to gain a position, or rather, a wind, that 
would carry us in. And this intention of tacking ship 
was an indication of the captain's opinion, that the favor- 
able moment had arrived. The sailors stationed them- 
selves at the proper ropes, and the mate responded, "All 
ready, sir." "Hard a-lee!" sung out the captain, as he 
put down the helm, and brought the ship into the wind, 
the sails'^hivering and flapping with considerable violence. 



TACKING SHIP. 109 

Presently they began to fill on the other side, when he 
gave the order, "Maintop sail haul," and instantly the 
ropes rattled through the blocks, and the main sail, main- 
top sail and maintop-gallant sail swung steadily and at once 
round the masts to the other side of the ship. Soon the 
order, "Let go and haul," was given, when the foresails 
were swung into their proper positions, and we were sail- 
ing on our course for San Francisco. 

Tacking ship is a beautiful evolution, and it is for that 
reason that I have described it, using in this instance the 
necessary nautical terms, though I have generally en- 
deavored to avoid them. It is also a performance requir- 
ing some little skill and practice. Our mate on one 
occasion made three attempts to tack, and failed, and was 
obliged at last to "wear ship," that is, to turn the ship 
round with the wind, thereby losing considerable ground. 
This is considered an unseamanlike maneuver, and it sub- 
jected our mate to some ridicule among the sailors. 

The indications of a favorable wind did not continue 
long, and in less than half an hour we were obliged to put 
about again, and stand on our old course. In this man- 
ner it continued for several days, veering from point to 
point, between noi-th-east and south-west, and forcing us 
continually to change the course of the ship, while we 
made very little progress towards port. 

The Dusky Albatrosses became very familiar, and Sher- 
man drew one of them on deck, but the captain followed 
it closely round the ship, and at last ordered it to be thrown 
overboard. 

For the information of those who are not familiar with 
the science of ornithology, and who may be curious to 
know how we could draw large birds into the ship with a 
hook and line without injuring them, I will say, that the upper 
mandible of many of these birds is recurved or bent down- 



no ROUND CAPE HORN. 

wards beyond the lower mandible, forming a hook suffi- 
ciently strong to hold the weight of the bird, and the 
fish-hook catches it by this curved beak as it seizes the 
bait. The hook does not penetrate the beak, but its sharp 
point prevents it shipping off so long as the bird holds back. 

Our mate amuses himself with drawing coarse carica- 
tures of the passengers; and they in turn retaliate by writ- 
ing doggerel verses on the mate. This leads me to say that 
one of our sailors has turned out to be a poet, and if there is 
any thing in a name that entitles a man to this honoi*, his 
claim is certainly good. His name is James Montgomery. 
His verses, though not quite equal to those by the author 
of the "Wanderer of Switzerland," are not altogether des- 
titute of poetic merit; and had he an opportunity to cul- 
tivate his talent, he would probably learn to write poetry. 
The mate, unable to write himself, offered Montgomery a 
dollar to write a lampoon on one of the passengers. But 
he scorned to do so dirty a job for such a paltry bribe, or 
for so low a fellow. 

September 1. We have at last got a fair wind, and dur- 
ing the whole day sailed directly on our course without 
tacking. Our spirits begin to revive, and we are not quite 
hopeless of reaching port. 

September 3. Fair winds continue to favor us, and we 
are within four hundred miles of California. A very few 
days will, in all probability, find us on terra firma again, 
when we shall part, many of us to meet no more. I would 
that these few remaining days might be spent in peace 
and harmony among us. But fate orders it otherwise. 
My enemies, the captain and mate, since the treacherous 
disclosure made by the chaplain, have been growing 
more and more acrimonious in their hatred, and they sel- 
dom omit an opportunity to insult me. An instance 
occurred this evening. But I forbear. 



MY JOURNAL. Ill 

Slierinan caught a porpoise last night, and cooked a 
portion of it to-day. We ate it rather greedily, and all 
thought it excellent. Our long voyage, coarse fare, and 
frequent hunger, have reheved us of many fastidious 
whims about food, and we have learned to eat and to relish 
some things, which it would be difficult for us to swallow 
at home. These porpoises throw out a ^rt of phosphor- 
escent light, by which they are readily seen in the night. 
This one was taken at nine o'clock of a cloudy evening. 

September 4. A fight occurred at breakfast in the main 
cabin between an Irishman of fifty-nine, the oldest man in 
the ship, and an American, not much his junior. The 
Yankee received a cut on the ear with a case-l«iife, and he 
knocked down his antagonist and gave him some severe 
bruises. Our ship is becoming a miniature pandemonium. 

My journal has become a source of much disquietude to 

Captain J. and Mrs. L 1. It has excited some interest 

among the passengers, and I have been repeatedly re- 
quested to publish an account of the voyage. I refused 
at first, but after many solicitations I so far yielded as to 
promise that if I had time to revise my journal after our 
arrival at San Francisco, I would publish it. A subscrip- 
tion was immediately got up, and one hundred and twenty 
copies subscribed for. The captain and Mr. Johnson ex- 
erted all their influence to prevent the passengers from 
putting their names to the paper, but they had the morti- 
fication to find that their opposition only tended to in- 
crease the subscription. Mr. Johnson made himself par- 
ticularly' busy in the matter. He urged me to read my 
manuscript to the ship's company. Not that he felt any 
personal interest in it, O, no! But he thought that jus- 
tice to Captain Jackson, whose character I had assailed, 
and to the passengers, who knew not what they were sub- 
scribing for, required me to read it. I did not. 



112 BOUND CAPE HORN. 

Hints had been rei^eatedly given me, that the captain 
intended to seize the obnoxious manuscript. Consulta- 
tions had been held upon the subject, and it was stated — 
and I have no doubt of the fact — that Mr. Johnson had 
expressed the ojDinion, that the captain was fully author- 
ized by law to break open my trunk, and seize it. Uncer- 
tain as to what these ignorant madmen might be tempted 
to do, I deposited the journal with a friend in the main 
cabin, where it remained till I left the sliip. 

September 5. This is the last Sabbath we expect to spend] 
on board the bark, and as we expect to separate in two or ! 
three days, a meeting was held in the main cabin, the ob- 
ject of whiyh was to settle disputes and restore harmony 
between the officers and passengers. 

It proved, however, a failure. Several short addresses 
were made, one by the captain in a spirit of defiance, and 
one by Mr. Johnson, defending his career on board the 
bark ; a prayer was offered, and a parting hymn sung, and 
we broke up with very little change of feeling. 

Immense schools of porpoises passed to-day, and Sher- 
man struck and secured one of the largest we have seen. 
Many of the men have employed themselves in preparing 
the skin for belts. A whale passed us in the afternoon, 
coming close along-side the bark. And to keep up the ex- 
citement, a sail was discovered on our starboard bow, the 
only one we have seen for fifty-three days. 

September 6. We were aroused this morning at four 
o'clock by the startling cry of "breakers." Our ship in- 
stantly became a scene of confusion, and the passengers 
rushed on deck from every quarter. I arose at the first cry 
and went out. . And there, within fifteen or twenty rods 
lay the land, the sea roaring loudly, and breaking in foam- 
ing surges on the shore. The helm had been put down, 
and fortunately the ship came round in season to escape. 



ESCAPE FROM SHIPWRECK. 113 

A minute's delay would have wrecked us. Or had the 
ship missed coming in staj's, as she has often done dur- 
ing the voyage, nothing could have saved her. There was 
at the time a thick fog, which accounts for our near ap- 
proach to the breakers before they were discovered. The 
sailor on the lookout heard the roaring of the breakers 
for some time before he discovered them, but attributed it 
to some other cause; for according to the captain's reckon- 
ing we were still far from land. Nothing could be more 
cheering after our long voyage than to behold the land of 
our destination, but this sudden introduction to it was 
any thing but agreeable. 

And now having escaped the perils of shipwreck, and 
hoping to arrive in port to-day, we are closing our voyage 
with an act of charity to our fellow-passenger, Dollifif, 
who, though convalescent, is still unable to support himself. 
A considerable sum is being raised for him. 





CHAPTEK XIII. 

Whales — Simsbine — The Pacific Ocean and Tom Moore — Wormy Bread 
and Impure Water— A Pilot — Arrival in the Harbor of San Francisco — The 
City— Dismantled Ships — My last Visit to the Bark — Statement and Counter 
Statement — Angry Remonstrance — Mr. Spring and his two Journals — Final 
Adieu to the James W. Paige. 

E beat all day to the north against a head wind, 
and made but slow progi-ess. We strove to 

^^tX^ wear away the tedium of the day b}- looking at 
the land, and watching the bii'ds and the whales, of which 
last a considerable number were seen near the ship, some- 
times three or four together. "We saw one of these mon- 
strous animals plunge down into the water, throwing his 
tail above the surface as he made his plunge, and in a 
moment after, come up again with such force and rapiditj" 
as to cany his ponderous body entirely into the air. Such 
an immense body, as it came down again into the water, 
could not fail to produce a great commotion. This act of 
leaping out of the water seemed to be performed in a 
similar manner to that of the sturgeon and smaller fish in 
our rivers and lakes. They fi'equently came close to the 
ship, placing by its sides, plungmg down on one side, and 
coming up on the other. Among the birds, were a number 
I had not seen before, and several Brown PeUcans. 

The weather was cold, but after a dark, foggy morning, 
the srm came out, and the sky continued unclouded dur- 
ing the da}'. This was very cheering, for we had had 
scarcely an hour's sunshine during niam^ weeks. What a 
contrast between the Pacific Ocean as I find it, and the jnc 



I 



MOORE AND POETRY. 115 

tiu'e I had formed of it. I had even associated it with 
unclouded skies and genial warmth, with mild breezes and 
gentlj' undulating waters. I had dreamed of it as "The 
Blue Summer Ocean," in which Moore might have found 
''The Blight Little Isle," of which he so sweetly smgs in 
one of his sweetest songs. And there is many an isle scat- 
tered over this great waste of waters, which would almost 
answer to Moore's description, 

" Where a leaf never dies in the still blooming bowers, 
And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers," 

many a spot, which aii", climate, soil, vegetable productions, 
and beautiful scenery have rendered as j^erfect el^'siums, 
as nature, unassisted by art, can produce. 

But leaving Moore, poetry, sunshine, and every pleasant 
thought, let us once more come back to the unwholesome 
reahties of the bark. In addition to the many luxuries with 
which our palates had been regaled during the voyage, we 
had for several weeks past been feasting on wormy bread — 
not mj'self, but my fellow-passengers. My disgust at hard- 
bread had become so intense, that I could not swallow it, 
good or bad. I think I must have starved had I been 
confined to it. But being on good terms with the stewards 
and cooks, I had found means to obtain an extra allowance 
of soft-tack, sufficient for my urgent wants. Few of the 
passengers were so fortunate. One of them, finding no 
escape from the wormy hard-bread, strove to make a little 
spoi-t out of it, by declaring that these living vermin had 
imj^ai-ted to the bread a peculiar livelij flavor, which was 
very palatable. 

Then, again, as the supply of water we had taken in at 
Talcahuana, became exhausted, we were obliged to resort 
to the old stock from Frankfort. Some of this was so ex- 
cessively filthy, and had acquired such a nauseous, such a 



116 BOUND CAPE HORN. 

putrid taste and smell, that several of the passengers who 
were far from being troubled ^^ith weak stomachs, actually 
vomited on diinking it. Even boihng it, and making tea 
or coffee with it would not purify it. But we had better 
water on board, and after many remonstrances and alter- 
cations with the captain, we got it. 

September 7. We took a pilot on board in the morning. 
He brought a paper or tw^o, which we read mth gi'eat inter- 
est, and it will be readily beheved that we were most eager 
in our inquiries for news. 

Among other objects that attracted our attention as we 
approached the harbor, was a great sand bank stretching 
a mile along the coast, and extending a considerable dis- 
tance inland. It was the largest bed of sand I had ever 
seen, and was a very fair sx^ecimen of a miniature desert. 
Several large rocks scattered along the coast presented a, 
lively appearance, from the multitude of sea birds that cov- 
ered them; and one of them attracted our particular notice, 
being perforated with a hole, sufficiently large, I thought, to 
admit the passage of a boat through it. 

We now ascertained that the place where we so naiTowly 
escaped shipA\Teck, was near Monterey, about sixty miles 
south of San Francisco. 

We entered the harbor in the afternoon, and anchored 
about a mile fi-om the city. And thus ended the voyage 
of the James W. Paige, one hundred and fifty-eight days 
from the day we set sail from Frankfort. 

A large fleet of boats surrounded the ship as soon as we 
anchored, and I took passage in one of them in company 
with several others, and after passing through a Tvdlderness 
of ships, steamers, and dismantled hulks, we landed in the 
city. Our first business on landing was at the Post-Office, 
where I was made happy by the reception of a package of 
letters informing me that all my fi'iends were aHve and well. 



jSAN FRANCISCO. 117 

We then sought a hotel, and, what we least expected in 
California, the first one we tried was a temperance house, 
the "United States Temperance House," After tea I took 
a walk with J. Tyler uj) Telegraph Hill, whence we had a 
fine view of the city and harbor. On our return we went 
into several gambling-saloons. These were large rooms, 
richly furnished, and supplied with large tables, loaded 
with heaps of glittering gold and silver, to be staked in 
the various games, for which each table was appropriated. 
Hundreds of people crowded into these saloons, many of 
them with no other motive than mere curiosity, but others 
wdth the foolish hope of filling their pockets from those 
tempting heaps of coins. 

A peculiar feature in the harbor of San Francisco at 
this time, and one that struck me very forcibly on our first 
approach, was the great number of dismantled ships that 
lay thickly scattered around it. These ships had a very 
old, ruinous, antiquated appearance, and at first sight, 
gave me an impression, that this new-born city had been 
inhabited for ages, and was now going to ruin. Most of 
them have their lower masts standing, and supported by 
a few ropes and chains. A large portion of them had 
been deserted by their crews on the first outbreak of the 
gold excitement, and were recklessly left to their destruc- 
tion, while men and officers rushed blindly and wildly to 
the mines. These ships have, however, been made sub- 
servient to a valuable purpose, having been converted into 
store-ships by the merchants. Some of them had doors 
cut in their sides, with short flights of steps from the 
water. Some w^ere run aground near the shore, and 
wharfs and streets were built around them, where, with 
houses erected on them they could scarcely be distinguished 
from the surrounding stores. 



118 ROUND GAPE HORN. 

September 8. I went on board the bark for my baggage. 
The captain, mate, and a large portion of the passengers 
were ashore. On going into the after house, my eye acci- 
dentally caught a letter which was addressed to Captain 
Jackson, expressing great thankfulness for his kind and 
gentlemanly treatment of the passengers, and charging 
the blame of disputes and quarrels to the passengers. It 
was written by Mr. Johnson and signed by Mr. Spring 
and several others, who were well aware of its utter falsity. 
Knowing that it was intended to counteract the numerous 
statements, which would be made at home prejudicial to 
Captain Jackson, I seized a pen and wrote a certificate, as 
near as I can remember, in the following words: 

''Bark James W. Paige, Sept. 8, 1852. 

"Whereas, a paper highly laudatory of Captain Jackson 
has been circulated for signatures on board this bark, a 
regard for truth impels us to say, that the conduct of Cap- 
tain Jackson during the voyage just ended has been highly 
arbitrary, ungentlemanly, insulting and abusive, and that 
even the female passengers have, in many instances, been 
subjected to the grossest abuse from him." During the few 
moments I was engaged in getting signatures to this paper, 
Mr. Spring, who was standing near, overheard me read it. 
It gave him great offense, and he remonstrated very 
strongly with me against the terms in which it was expressed. 
He said I had virtually charged him and others with false- 
hood, and urged me to withdraw or modif}' my statement. 
I refused to do either; and this good man, with whom I 
had had the most friendly relations during the voyage, 
now quivered with passion, while he intimated that a 
prosecution for libel would be instituted against me. Mr. 
Spring was liable to the charge of duplicity in signing that 
paper, so full of flattery and falsehood ; and his chief occu- 



3IB. SPBING'S JOURNAL. 119 

pation during the voyage was marked by a singularity, to 
say the least of it, not quite compatible with a strict re- 
gard for truth. He had kept a journal of the voyage, and 
noted the occurrences of each day much more carefully and 
minutel}^ than I did. He often read passages from his 
journal to the passengers, and it was well known that his 
opinion of the captain coincided with that of a large majority 
of the company. He had been several times chosen on com- 
mittees to remonstrate with Captain J. on our treatment 
and fare. But towards the latter part of the voyage it was 
observed that a friendly understanding had grown up be- 
tween him and the captain, which gave rise to many con- 
jectures as to the cause. But whatever may have been 
the cause, the effect of this newly formed friendship was 
a revision of Mr. Spring's journal, or, more properly speak- 
ing, a rejection of it, and the writing of a new one, in 
which every thing offensive to Captain Jackson, and all oc- 
currences of an unpleasant nature, in which the captain 
had acted a part, were omitted, and only the more agreeable 
transactions and events were recorded; in fact, changing 
the true and unvarnished record of the voyage, which he 
had made with so much labor, for a smooth and sunny 
picture, which, though it might not be chargeable with 
actual falsehood in its details, would, nevertheless, convey 
to the reader a grossly false impression of the character of 
Captain Jackson, and the annoyances and vexations at- 
tending the voyage. This revision of his journal cost him 
much time, though not so much as might, on first thought, 
have been expected. So many occurrences were necessa- 
rily omitted, that for every sheet he had at first written, 
a page now sufficed. His original journal, which I would 
have given a dollar to possess, he threw overboard. His 
new one was to be forwarded to a paper in Calais, Me., for 
publication. 



120 ROUND CAPE HORN. 

I obtained twenty-five signatures to my paper in a few 
minutes, and then, gathering up my baggage, I bade a 
final adieu to the James W. Paige w^ith a regret, which I 
think was remarkable only for its minuteness. 



Our voyage is ended, but not quite our book. Many 
incidents of an unpleasant nature, which had occurred on 
the voyage, have been omitted, and the omission has some- 
what shortened the book. The following extracts from 
the continuation of my journal through a long sojourn on 
the Pacific Coast, are appended as a substitute for the re- 
jected passages. 




California Scenes 




Scenes in Sacramento. 

AY, 1853. California in early times offered in- 
numerable scenes j^artaking of the ludicrous 
and tlie horrible, and a person in search of either, 
might have his taste and his curiosity gratified at almost 
any moment. The Horse Market in Sacramento was the 
great resort of every imaginable description of characters, 
and such a scene of uproar and confusion as it presented 
at a public sale is utterly indescribable. There were some 
fine sycamores standing there before the Great Fire which 
destroyed the greater portion of the city. They had been 
found very useful for suspending thieves and robbers in 
the days of lynch law. After the fire, the trees were felled, 
and the stumps afforded e:scellent stands for the auction- 
eers. At one of the public sales of horses I saw four 
auctioneers stationed upon these stumps. The full strength 
of their lungs was called into exercise, and they were 
vociferating in their loudest tones, each one striving to 
outdo the others in noise, and all extolling the various 
merits of their respective animals with an eloquence pe- 
culiar to horse-jockeys, while their assistants, mounted on 
the horses, were riding around with a speed and a care- 
lessness that threatened death to half the multitude that 
thronged the streets. 



122 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

While this scene was enacting, a fight was taking place 
in a neighboring gambling-house between two combatants 
who were seen rushing from the house followed by an 
excited multitude. One of the duelists, bruised and 
bloody, was retreating from the other, who followed close 
upon him, dealing repeated blows, which the poor fellow 
sometimes turned to parry, while hastening to make his 
escape. The crowd followed on, shouting like demons, 
and increasing in numbers at every step. " Oh, that is 
dreadful!" exclaimed a horror-struck young man, who 
had but recently arrived in California, and had not been 
initiated in its manners and customs. The throng of ex- 
cited brutes at length came to a stand; the chase and the 
battle were ended; the victory was won, and the defeated 
combatant was taken to a surgeon who seemed to be the 
only one benefitted by the afi'ray, and who exclaimed in a 
tone of charming sensibility: ''Let them fight to their 
hearts' content, if they will only employ me to repair 
their broken heads ! " 

Scarcely was this affair ended, when a loud shout was 
heard down the street, and we beheld a stampede of 
Spanish cattle followed by several herdsmen on horseback, 
who rushed along with furious speed, swinging their coiled 
lassos as they went, now striving to turn the drove of wild 
cattle, and now retreating before them as they pressed 
forward unchecked by horses or riders; now dashing along 
side by side with a single ox, whose speed nearly equalled 
the fleetness of the horse; and now in the midst of the 
drove, which seemed scarcely to make room for them. 
However, after much shouting, hallooing, and racing, the 
cattle were turned back, and the exciting scene was over. 

But again another shout, and a team of oxen was seen 
running away with a wagon in which was seated the team- 
ster. After running a considerable distance, the teamster, 



STEALING CATTLE. 123 

watching a favorable opportunity, leaped nimbly from his 
wagon, and headed his oxen, who, stoppii>g suddenly, 
broke the rigging attached to the yoke, and letting the 
tongue of the wagon fall to the ground, brought oxen and 
wagon together in a heap. 

All this for one hour's sport in one locality in Sacra- 
mento. AA'hat sort of amusements the}' were enjoying at 
the same time in other parts of the city I did not learn. 




Cattle Stealing in Contra Costa. 

UGUST 17, 1854. My neighbor, Mr. R., has lost 
an ox. It was stolen; and a horse stolen also. 
,i^^^ Another neighbor, Mr. A., has lost three valuable 
oxen in the same way. 

The great facilities for concealing oxen, horses, and 
other property in the innumerable dee] )ly secluded valleys 
and hiding-places that occur in every direction in the 
mountainous country, which, commencing at these Red- 
woods, extend to the valley of the San Joaquin, offer too 
many inducements to the numerous idlers and vagabonds 
that prowl about the land to be visited; and consequently 
theft, robbery, and I may almost add, murder, are but every 
day occurrences. No man who owns a horse, an ox or 
swine, can feel secure of them for a moment when out of 
sight. These thieves are often associated in large gangs, 
and consist of both Americans and Mexicans; and so 
great is the number of their accomplices in some of the 
villages, that when one of their number is detected, means 
are immediately furnished him to escape. The very officer 



124 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

who is commissioned to seciu*e liira, is not unfrequently a 
party concerned in the thefts. Many of the butchers are 
supioosed to be leagued with the thieves, and, by purchas- 
ing their stolen property at low prices, they thus share 
the profits with them. 

August 23. Justice has at last overtaken two of thO; 
cattle thieves. Suspicion had for some time past rested 
on some butchers at San Antonio, and they were watched, 
and detected in the act of slaughtering in the night some 
cows and oxen that had just been stolen. Messengers 
were immediately sent many miles around the country to 
notify the inhabitants to assemble for the trial of the fel- 
ons. The people of the Redwoods, who had suffered 
severely from the depredations of the thieves, turned out 
almost en masse. The house of the butchers was the 
place appointed for the trial. Passing by that place at 
the time, I had the curiosity to stop for a moment, and 
was surprised to observe a strange hesitation and falter- 
ing among the people assembled. A long discussion en- 
sued as to the proper mode of conducting the trial, which 
ended in turning the thieves over to the legal authorities. 
This, under the existing state of things, was nearly equiv- 
alent to giving them their liberty; and it was resolved by a 
number of determined fellows, that they should not so 
easily escape. They were taken before a justice for ex- 
amination, and their guilt fully proved. But they asked 
for an adjournment of the trial till the next day, for the 
alleged purpose of getting some witnesses, but in fact, to 
give their friends and associates an opportunity to rescue 
them. The adjournment w^as granted, and they were 
taken to a hotel and put under a guard, of which Andrews, 
from whom they had stolen the oxen, was the head. In 
the course of the day, a party proceeded to the house and 
corral of the thieves, and lurued them to the ground 



JUDGE LYNCH. 125 

■with all their contents. Not an article was appropriated 
to their own use by these avengers of their own wrongs. 
It was justice, not plunder, they sought. Valuable sad- 
dles, harnesses and furniture, were all sacrificed. 

There was a gathering of the friends of the thieves in 
the night, but they were driven off by the -boys from the 
Redwoods, who had stationed themselves around the 
house. These men now began to see that they must act, 
and act promptly too, or the whole business would prove 
but a farce, and the guilty villains would escape. They 
therefore dispatched horsemen to the Redwoods to sum- 
mon the people again to come and assist in the execution 
of the two principal criminals. Before morning, a suffi- 
cient number had arrived to carry out their plans, and 
they proceeded to action. A number of them went to 
the house where the prisoners were confined, and in 
defiance of the proprietor, who was supposed to be con- 
federate with the thieves, they rushed to the room, and 
seized one of them, whom they hurried away. It was a 
scene of great confusion and terror. The guard made a 
show of resistance, but it was only a show. They fired 
several shots, but were careful to elevate their revolvers 
above the heads of their assailants; the balls lodged in 
the ceiling, and nobody was killed or wounded. The affair 
had doubtless been preconcerted between Andrews and 
the assaihjig party. They hastened the guilty thief to an 
oak a few^ rods distant, having at the outset fastened a rope 
to his neck ; and scarcely a moment had elapsed ere he was 
dangling from a branch. They then retui-ned to the house, 
and seizing another of the thieves, hurried him away as 
before. The fellow was in an agony of fear and horror, 
begged most piteously for his life, protested his innocence, 
and offered to make impoi-tant disclosvu-es if they would 
spare him. All this would not have saved him had it not 



126 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

been discovered by one of the pai-ty when they aiiiyed. at 
the tree, that this was not the man they intended to execute. 
He was therefore led back more dead than ahve, ha^iag 
endui'ed far more siiffeiing and hoiTor than his more hard- 
ened confederate, whom he saw hanging from the tree, and 
who had paid the x^enalty wliich he so naiTowly escaped. 
The intended -sictim was then taken to the place of execu- 
tion, and immediately suspended beside his dead comrade. 

While these executions were taking place, many fiiends 
of the thieves gathered round, utteiing thi'eats and de- 
nunciations, but a dozen rifles and revolvers were leveled 
at them, and they were intimidated into silence. 

These executions caused gi'eat excitement at the time, 
and much discussion ensued in the papers respecting them. 
But the community very generally acquiesced in the neces- 
sity of the measui-e, though every one regretted it. Com- 
plaint was made to the grand juiy of the county against 
several of the leaders of the lynching paiiy, but no bill of 
indictment was found against them for want of e\ddence. 
Many of the people of Oakland were highly exasperated 
at the audacity of the Redwoods boys, and thi'eatened to 
go and hang them to theii' own trees. But this seized 
rather to amuse the boys than to fiighten them. 

A few weeks after these executions, word was brought 
to the Redwoods that a poor man had been robbed of 
some oxen m Oakland through the villainy of one of the 
officials in that city. A company quickly assembled and 
marched do^Mi to the city, determined to have justice done 
the poor man, and hang the officer if cu'cumstances re- 
quii'ed it. They had not forgotten the thi-eats of the 
Oaklanders to hang them, and determined to put theu* 
covu'age to the test. The case was investigated by the 
mayor of the city, and the mob resolved to await his de- 
cision. But much time was occupied in the investigation. 



FELLING TREES. 127 

and they grew impatient and clamorous. Meanwhile many 
of them paraded through the streets, uttering defiance to 
the citizens. "Here is a target," said a brawny, black- 
bearded Kentucldan, (the same I had encountered in the 
Redwoods, and who sold me a vulture, ) as he strode along 
with a rusty rifle on his shoulder, and struck his breast. 
" Here is a target for the Oakland sharp-shooters. Let 'em 
try it if they dare." "I'm fi-om the Redwoods," roared 
out another. " ^\Tiere is your Oakland company to hang 
me ? " " What are you after ? " asked a spectator of one 
of the boys. "Justice," he rephed. '*But how are you 
going to obtain it ? " " By the halter, if the money isn't 
paid pretty soon," he rephed with an oath. 

The affair was approacliing a crisis. The mayor's inves- 
tigation had been protracted, and the clamors and shouts 
of the mob often reached his ears, when at last he found- 
it necessary to acknowledge that the proceedings of the 
officer were illegal, that the city was liable for the value of 
the cattle, and in order to appease the mob, he pledged his 
individual word for the payment of the money. The party 
then retui'ned triumphantly to their homes in the Red- 
woods, and thus the affau' ended. 



Felling Trees in the Redwoods. 

fANTJAR Y 30, 1854. On an excursion to-day I stopped 
on the way to see two trees felled. When the reader 
is told that I had passed more than six months in 
the Redwoods, and had seen the trees fall around me al- 
most every day, he will suppose that such scenes would 
lose their novelty for me. It is, however, a scene of no 



128 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

ordinary sublimity to behold one of those monster trees, 
nearly as high as the Bunker Hill Monument, fall to the 
ground, and it is a sight which I never tke of seeing. 

I speak of them as being nearly as high as the Bunker 
Hill Monument, because I have seen none of the largest 
and tallest trees, they having been felled before I arrived 
here. But a comparison with the monument will serve to 
give a better idea of their great height than a statement 
in figures. Imagine then one of them, such as have grown 
here, and such as are still standing in other forests, — im- 
agine one placed beside the monument, and towering fifty 
or even seventy-five feet above it, and you will have a con- 
ception of the grandeur of these magnificent forests. 

The two trees whose fall I was about to witness stood 
side by side half wa}^ up a steep acclivity. One of them 
had been cut off, and stood leaning against the other. 

Two men were at work on the latter tree. I seated my- 
self on a stump at the foot of the hill, and awaited the re- 
sult. Presently a sharp snap or crackle announced that 
the tree was about yielding to the efforts of the axe-men, 
and they stopped and looked up. It stood, however, and 
they continued to ply their axes. Soon there came an- 
other loud crackle, and the two trees began to sway in the 
direction the axe-men had intended. They now retreated 
to a secure place, while the trees, moving slowly and majes- 
tically at first, but with an accelerated motion, came sweep- 
ing down, accompanied with a loud and protracted crash 
as the fibres of the uncut portion were torn asunder, and 
striking the ground with a force that made it tremble, and 
with a noise like the booming report of a heavy cannon. 
Each tree was broken into several pieces, which came roll- 
ing like mighty giants down the hill, tumbling over each 
other, and strewing the ground with large fragments torn 
from their sides and ends, while every branch was stripped 



SOLITUDE. 129 

from the trunks. They landed at last at the foot of the 
hill, and within a rod of the stump on which I sat, and 
sent forward a thick and suffocating cloud of dust, from 
which I hastened to make my escape. 

"Ah! we would go a great many miles in Massachusetts 
to see such a sight as this ;" said one of the axe-men, a young 
man from that state, "But we can never see any thing like 
it there." 



I 



Solitude. 

fEGEMBER, 1853. An important change has been 
in progress for some time past in the Redwoods. 
Three or four months ago I was surrounded by a 
deep, dense forest, in which was a busy population at work. 
But this industry fast swept away the forest, and as the 
timber grew scarce, they began to remove to other places. 
They continued to go until our society was reduced to ten 
men, living in a little cluster of four cabins. But even this 
colony has taken a sudden resolution to migrate, and this 
morning the last man went, and I am left alone. So now, 
nothing remains for me but to go too, which I shall do as 
soon as I can determine where. 

As for a portion of my departed neighbors — brutal, law- 
less scoundrels — I am heartily glad they are gone. But 
I had one good friend, whose absence I deeply regret. 
From the first moment I came into the woods until we 
shook hands and parted this morning, Mr. Wakefield has 
stood by me, a kind, benevolent, warm-hearted, steadfast 
friend. His disinterested kindness, his anxiety for my 
welfare, and my success in business, his watchfulness of 



130 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

two or three bitter foes, with whom I have had to contend, 
and his timely warnings of dangers, have entitled him to 
my warmest gratitude. 

"Well, here I am in the depths of a California forest, shut 
up in a lonely cabin on a winter night, scribbling my diary 
for the amusement of my daughter, rejoicing in the depart- 
ure of my foes, and deploring the absence of my fri'ends. 
And while I ponder on the perfect solitude that surrounds 
me, I find myself almost unconsciously repeating from 
Kirk White: 

"It is not that my lot is low, 
That bids this sileut tear to flow ; 
It is not grief that makes me moan ; 
It is that I am all alone. " 

I had a cat. She has been with me all day; but now, 
when the society of any domestic animal would be some re- 
lief against the tedium of this deep loneliness, even she has 
left me and instead of the purring of a gentle house cat, 
I am for a moment startled by the dismal howling of a 
wild animal outside of my cabin. I am unfortunately pos- 
sessed of an unsocial disposition; I love solitude, but I 
have at last found a solitude more profound than I have 
a taste for. 



A Collector of Natural Curiosities. 

(^gf JJL Y 30, 1854. In company with a young man in 
Ml San Francisco, who had been informed of my taste 
^^H for the odd and cuiious productions of nature, I 
visited a man who had made a considerable collection of 
objects of Natural History. We found him in a small room 
in a second story, with his boxes and trunks all packed 



NATURAL CURIOSITIES. 131 

prej)ai-atory to a removal. But on announcing the object 
of oui' \isit, he seemed much pleased, and though I re- 
monstrated T\dth him against the trouble it would cost him, 
he proceeded at once to unpack his treasures and spread 
them before us. But before I speak of them let me de- 
scribe the man. He was a Norwegian, but having resided 
several years in the United States, he spoke pretty good 
Enghsh. He was about forty years of age, si)rightly and 
active, with a sparkling eye, and a face covered with a 
very thick red beard that hung down upon his breast. 
He was natiu^ally intelligent, though his faculties wanted 
cultivation. He had never studied Natural History, and 
did not know a single specimen in his collection by its 
scientific name. He had passed much time at sea, I do 
not know in what capacity, but it had afforded him time 
and oj)portunity to make a valuable collection. 

The first curiosity he exhibited was a family of young 
mice which he had bottled the day before. Next he pro- 
duced a bottle containing a httle shapeless mass apparently 
folded up in a bleached tobacco-leaf, and challenged me to 
tell him the name of it. "A young bat," said I. " Ha ! " 
he exclaimed, "you are the first man that has guessed it." 
Then he set out bottle after bottle of snakes, some of them 
very rare and beautiful. These reptiles had the greatest 
attractions for him, and they composed the largest and 
most valuable portion of his collection. Then a fine va- 
riety of lizards, and a considerable collection of coleopter- 
ous insects, among which were some very large and brilHant 
specimens. Next he produced a Bible, whose pages he 
had embeUished with a variety of butterflies; and lastly, 
several boxes filled with sea-shells and corals, pieces of 
crystalized quartz, some specimens of gold in quartz, a 
copper ball nearly an inch in diameter, which he had 
found in the mountains, and many other specimens in 



132 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

* 

mineralogy, which he had collected in the mines. He gave 
me several shells and crystals, and in retui'n I promised him 
some bones and feathers of the Cahfornia Vultui'e and 
other bh'ds from my cabinet. 

He had one live snake which he intended to bottle after 
it had shed its skin, which it was about to do. This snake 
was ke^Dt in a wooden box; and, while we were engaged in 
examining his preserved congeners, finding the door of his 
prison open, he resolved to take an ailing on the balcony. 
Here he was accidentally discovered by the next door 
neighbors, who gave oui' fiiend timel}" notice. He imme- 
diately gave chase, and found his snakeship ensconced 
among some boxes and other rubbish. Seizing him by 
the tail, he brought him in writhing and twisting about 
his hand and arm, darting out his red forked tongue, flash- 
ing fire from his eyes, and betraying a total absence of 
those blandishments with which an ancester of his once in- 
duced a pretty woman to sin. Some one present asked 
the man if he was not afraid the snake would bite him 
"No," he answered, "no snake can bite me." I did not 
ask him if he was a serpent-charmer, but have been told 
that he was. 

The only ornithological specimens he possessed were the 
skeleton head and a wing bone of an albatross. He had 
not learned the art of preser^ing the skins of birds, and I 
promised to give liim a httle instruction if I had time and 
oppoi-tunitj'. I told him how I had been thwarted in my 
intention to make a collection in my voyage round Cape 
Horn by the captain of the ship, and he seemed to strug- 
gle for words to express his scorn and contempt for sucl! 
an ignorant and superstitious ship-master. 

His principal collection was in Philadelphia. He had 
been offered a high price for it, but no amount of money 
would induce him to sell it. 



RATTLESNAKES. 133 

After a visit of more than two lioui-s, wliicli I engaged 
to repeat soon, we sliook hands and parted. I have seldom 
seen a man display so much enthusiasm in an occupation 
which he followed solely for his amusement. 

I took occasion some weeks after this, while making an- 
other Aasit at San Francisco, to renew m^^ acquaintance 
T\ith my Norwegian friend. He had recently received a 
very fine snake, with w^hich he was highly pleased. I 
admu-ed his enthusiasm. "O," said he in the course of 
our conversation, "there is nothing in nature so beautiful 
as a snake." I remarked that this new specimen was cer- 
tainly a very handsome one. " O it is splendid, it is most 
magnificent." We passed an hour very pleasantly to- 
gether, and parted with much reluctance. I have never 
seen him since. 




^ 
^ 



A Pair of Rattlesnakes. 

EPTEMBER 12, 1854. My account of the Norwe- 
gian snake-collector, naturally recalls a little experi- 
ence of my own in the same line. A fellow in the 
Redwoods, near which I was then tarrying, brought me 
at different times, two splendid rattlesnakes, which I 
bought and placed in a long box with a glass front, through 
which I could observe all their motions. It may, perhaps, 
excite a smile, when I state that by constant familiarity 
with these reptiles, I had acquired a sort of affection for 
them, that would have prompted me to defend them from 
harm, though I never saw one of the species at large, but I 
made 1^ war upon him, except in one instance in which the 
snake began the battle, and I fought in self-defense, and 



134 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

happily won the Tictory. An Indian enriches himself 
with the scalp of his defeated enemy, and I know not but 
I might have followed his example in this instance had it 
been possible, but in the absence of a scalp-lock I was 
obliged to content myself with such a trophy, as his other 
extremity afforded, his rattle. 

These two reptiles became my pets, and afforded me 
much amusement. I do not think that I was "charmed" 
by that wonderful power which is often attributed to the 
serpent family. There was no "fascination in their eyes, " 
though we often sat and gazed at each other during sev- 
eral minutes. But I liked to watch their motions, and 
study their habits; to see them thrust out their long, dark, 
forked tongues as I approached their prison, or erect their 
tails and shake their rattles when disturbed. I liked to 
behold their spotted bodies, flattened as they lay quietly 
stretched on the floor of their cage, but swollen and dis- 
tended when aroused by a sense of danger; or to see their 
fangs as they sometimes opened their mouths, as if in the 
act of gaping. I was amused with a habit they had of 
slowly stretching themselves at full length along the box, 
and then suddenly drawing themselves back again. And 
most of all, I was amused to see them on a cold morning 
folded together into a coil, from the center of which their 
flattened heads protruded, and rested side by side upon 
their bodies, looking, despite their venomous natures, the 
very picture of affection and of innocence, and affording 
a lesson, which many a rational biped might study with 
profit. 

These reptiles never quarreled. Place two foxes in a 
cage, and they will fight from day to day, until one or the 
other is killed. Even two birds of many species will de- 
stroy each other, when confined together. But here was 
an instance of perfect harmony. In truth they had noth- 



A QUEER FELLOW. 135 

ing to quarrel about. They seemed to have no wants ex- 
cept that of liberty, the love of vrhich they probably pos- 
sessed in common with every other animal. They could fast 
without hunger or thirst. I placed fresh meat and water 
in their cage, but they never tasted of either. I threw sev- 
eral lizards in to them, but they allowed them to run over 
the cage, and even over their bodies unmolested. Still 
they do eat, though individuals have been known to live 
many months and even years without tasting food. White 
in his Natural History of Selbourne, says: "The serpent- 
kind eat, I believe, but once a year, or, rather, but only 
just at one season of the year. " 

But my pets were doomed to a tragical end, which it 
pains me record. Two old men, who had no fondness for 
beautiful things in animated nature, nor a taste for any 
thing else but whiskey and tobacco, got charmingly drunk 
one day, and being bent on mischief, they broke into my 
room during my absence, and seized my snakes, took them 
into the street where they had kindled a fire for the occa- 
sion, and with much ceremony and mock solemnity, offered 
them up to their god, whoever he might be, as a burnt 
sacrifice. The loss of those snakes was a source of great 
annoyance and vexation to me, and I earnestly and de- 
voutly prayed that in every fit of delirium-tremens which 
those old sinners should bring upon themselves during the 
remainder of their worthless lives, they might be haunted 
by the ghosts of those murdei:ed innocents. 



A Queer Fellow. 

PRLL 18, 1860. Mr. Van Wee was one of the queer- 
est compounds of oddity, with whom it was my for- 
tune to meet in my travels. He kept a hotel at Oak 
Bottom, ten miles fi'om Shasta. Two Iiish women, sisters. 




136 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

were his housekeepers and servants. Many a Hvely scene 
was enacted about liis estabhshment, and scarcely a day 
passed \\ithout bringing some extraordinary excitement. 
One day there was a great uproar in and around the house 
occasioned by the arrival of a skunk on a visit to the cliick- 
ens. The dogs barked, the hens cackled, the women 
screamed, and Van Wee flew roiind wild Tvith excitement, 
his gun was brought to him, the intruder chased into the 
stable and shot, and quiet was restored. 

Next day two valuable dogs, very useful for barking at 
travelers and eating superfluous food, which would other- 
wise be thrown to the pigs and lost, strayed away or were 
stolen. A boy and an Irish woman were sent off on horse- 
back after them, and great was the rejoicing in the after- 
noon on the safe return of dogs, horses, boy and woman. 

On the morning of the third day I was surprised to learn 
that there had been a wedding in the house, and that Mr. 
Van Wee, in obedience to a sudden impulse had married 
one of his housekeeiDcrs. The wedding had been ver}- pri- 
vate, so much so, that the sister of the bride was not aware 
that such an event was in contemplation until the hour be- 
fore its consummation. 

This Van Wee, as I have said before, is a queer fellow. 
He hates the Hquor business, but keeps a bar, drinks with 
all his fiiends — and they are numerous — and gets mellow 
every day. He is, or rather was, a Know-Nothing in poh- 
tics, and hates all foreigners of whatever nation, although 
his father and mother are Dutch, and his wife is Irish. 
An infidel in rehgion, he read me a chapter from Tom 
Paine's Age of Reason. He contributes freely to churches, 
and is hospitable to clergymen of whatever creed. He 
receiyes a great many rudely expressed, but heariy con- 
gratulations from his fiiends, whom he treats, drinks with, 
swears at, blackguai'ds, and invites to see " the gal, " who 



A SANDWICH-ISLANDER, 137 

receives her Mends in the kitchen, while attending to her 
duties over the stove, with her gown pinned up in true Irish 
style. His affection for his vdfe continues unabated, not- 
withstanding he has been married three days, — this was 
when I last saw hun, — and he betrays it in many acts of 
coarse loudness; calls her Bidd}^ ridicules her nation and 
her rehgion, damns her priests and feeds them all. 

He has sent invitations to all his friends, far and near, 
men, women and childi-en, to assemble at his house, next 
week for a grand jollification in commemoration of his wed- 
ding. Long may he flouiish. 



A Sandwich Island Woman 

AND HER YANKEE HUSBAND. 

(^^EDWOODS, Contra Costra, Dec. 16, 1854. I have 
v"^^ made acquaintance with a Kanaka woman, the 
^^g only one I have ever seen. She is known by the 
name of Hannah, is eighteen years of age, was married five 
years ago to a Yankee sailor, and left her native island for 
a home in California. She is short and thick, with a com- 
plexion darker than that of our Indians, has a broad nose 
and wide mouth, her countenance partaking of a mixture 
of the Indian and the Negro. She is kind and affection- 
ate, lively and excitable, quick and passionate, simple and 
guileless. Her mind is uncultivated, and she is grossly 
vulgar and profane in her language, and disgustingly 
filthy in her person and dress. She is very temperate, 



138 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

drinking no strong liquors, but smokes cigars. She is 
honest and trusty, faithful to discharge all debts she may 
contract, and to fulfil all her engagements. She is a 
simple-minded child of nature, and I am often amused 
with her child-Hke talk. 

This morning she was very inquisitive, and made many 
inquiries about my home and family. I showed her a 
daguerreotype of my daughter. She examined it with 
much curiosity and in silence for several minutes, when 
she broke out in a shower of questions, ejaculations and 
remarks, which could not but amuse me. 

"Dat you little gal? Don to see dranfader? Petty 
woman, brack hair. Dot a rin on her han. (Ring on her 
finger.) What you gal name? How old you gal? Very 
petty. You gal, he no come to Californy? You no want 
to see you gal? Pett}^ dress." And then she asked me 
about my father, mother, sister, brothers, and every thing 
relating to them, until she got a pretty full account of my 
family. 

Hannah is a good rider, and often figures on horseback 
in a very long blue calico riding-dress, a man's straw hat 
with a narrow brim, and tied with a string under the chin, 
and a woolen jacket belonging to her husband. Our cir- 
cus riders might learn some useful lessons from Hannah's 
equestrian feats. 

Mr. Joseph Tracy, or as he is more famiharly called, 
Kanaka Joe, is a sailor from Maine, has seen much of the 
world, was on board the Princeton steamship at the time 
of the explosion of the great gun, by which several gentle- 
men of John Tyler's cabinet were killed, and has spent 
considerable time in the Sandwich Islands, whither he 
intends to return after he shall have made his fortune in 
California. Joe is a still, quiet, peaceable fellow, though 
quick to resent an insult, and can fight beautifully when 



A PARTY. 139 

necessary. He has a sailor's high notions of honor and a 
sailor's deep passion for drink. He is fond of reading 
withal, has quite a taste for the yellow-covered literature, 
talks learnedly of books, and often philosophizes very 
wisely, and has no mean opinion of his own literary taste 
and scientific attainments. Joe is very fond of his Kana- 
ka wife, though he flogs her occasionally in the heat of 
passion, repenting of it immediately after. As Joe's improv- 
ident habits are not conducive to a rapid accumulation of 
riches, the time of his return to his island-home may be 
considered somewhat uncertain. 



A Party, 



MANUARY, 1855. Senor Moraga was one of those 
land owners, whose domains, over w^hicli immense 
droves of wild cattle roamed, extended over many a 
league of rich land, until the advent of the Americans, 
who lawlessly despoiled them of large numbers of their 
cattle, and w^ho introduced many expensive habits among 
them, which they were but two ready to adopt; when ne- 
cessity compelled them to part with large tracts of then- 
lands to the greedy foreigners, and their estates dwindled 
down to insignificent ranches. Senor Moraga, though 
shorn of many thousand acres, had still a large and ex- 
ceedingly valuable estate remaining. 

I received an invitation to attend a party at his house on 
INew Year's eve, 1855. I set out on foot in the evening, 
which was lighted up by a moon approaching the full, that 
often breaking forih from masses of dark clouds, which 
had been pouring down a plentiful supply of rain dming 
the day, enabled me to follow a trail that led up the valley 



140 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

and over tlie mountain ridge, on the opposite side of which 
stood Moraga's residence. It was a fine evening, and I — 
I scarcely knew why — was in a mood to enjoy it. It may 
have been the breaking up of the storm and the appear- 
ance of the clouds and the sk}-, which resembled more 
nearly the moonhght views we have in New England than 
any thing I had beheld for many a long month; or it may 
have been the pleasing anticijDation of the novelties I was 
about to witness and enjoy dm-ing the evening, though 
what the}" were I had not been infonned and could hardly 
imagine. But whatever may have been the cause, my 
si^uits were buoyant, and my thoughts busy and pleasant. 

I arrived at Moraga's at an early hour. His house over- 
looked a beautiful valley, and commanded a fine ^devf of the 
hills beyond. It was built of adobes, and the walls were 
several feet thick. A broad piazza extended along the 
front, affording a pleasant shade in summer. I entered 
by a broad door-way, a capacious room well finished, and 
handsomely papered and painted. There was neither stove 
nor fire-jDlace in it, nor any furniture, with the exception 
of chairs and a small time-piece. In this room the gen- 
tlemen were assembled, and this was the hall in which we 
were to pass the evening. In a smaller room on the left, I 
saw two neat-looking beds, one of which was fui-nished 
mth handsome figured, white mushn curtains. There 
were also chaii'S, tables, and a looking-glass in the room. 
This room I obseiwed was occupied by the family, and the 
lady guests. The only other room I saw was that in which 
we took supper, and was lil^e the rest, finished in a style 
of considerable neatness. 

And now for the company'. First comes Senor Moraga, 
the father of our host and owner of the estate, an old man 
of seventy, shoii, thick, corpulent and coarse-featured, but 
sprightly, active and pohte. Then his sons, Jose and 



SINGULAR DANCING. 141 

Francisco, between thirty and forty years of age, swarthy 
men with very good features, black hair, whiskers and mus- 
taches. They were very gentlemanly in their deportment. 
There were several Mexicans, some of whom were tolerably 
polished in their manners, and others as uncouth as the 
Indians with whom they associated. But the greater part 
of the company consisted of Americans, rough men from 
the Redwoods, who, however, deported themselves wdth a 
considerable degree of propriety. 

Next come the ladies, who, by all the laws of gallantry, 
should have been mentioned first. And foremost among 
them was Dona Maria, our hostess, and the lady of Jose 
Moraga. She was a large, corpulent woman with a fairer 
complexion and better features than most Mexican women 
I had seen, and she was said to be of pure Castilian blood. 
Her black, glossy hair was arranged in the usual Spanish 
style, in two braids that hung down her back. She was 
dressed in a black silk that fitted w^ell her capacious 
person. She had several daughters, whose personal at- 
tractions I cannot extol, but who were very pretty dancers. 
There were two old women, very ugly, whose names I did 
not learn. I observed a considerable number of Indian 
women in the house, and there was no lack of pappooses 
among them. I was pleased with the little imps, and 
they did not reject my overtures for a frolic occasionally, 
and were not disinclined to be on familiar terms with me. 
They constituted, indeed, a very amusing part of the eve- 
ning's entertainment. 

Two musicians had been employed for the occasion. 
Their instruments were a viohn and a guitar. Dancing- 
was the principal amusement. 

The ladies entered the room and seated themselves 
without ceremony, the musicians struck up a lively tune, 
and one of the gentlemen arose and waved his handker- 

10 



142 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

chief towards a ladj^ wliereupon slie arose and moved 
moderate!}' over the floor, and while her feet, hid by her 
long dress, drummed out almost every note of the music, 
her body seemed to glide along without any apparent ex- 
ertion, neither risiDg nor falling, as if she were carried 
along b}^ invisible macliiner}^ or was floating over the floor 
without touching it. While she was thus moving along 
in this peculiar dance, one of the gentlemen seized his 
neighbor's hat — all the gentlemen wore their hats except 
when dancing — and placed it on the young lady's head. 
She still continued to dance without appearing to pay the 
slightest attention to this apparently uncivil act. She 
soon, however, took her seat and displaced the hat, hold- 
ing it in her hand. Another and another of the ladies 
were called, or rather motioned up, who each performed 
the same dance, and each was similarly crowded with a 
hat or a handkerchief, and sometimes with several of each. 
Dona Maria was also called to the floor. She executed 
the dance with superior grace, and with greater success 
than the girls in collecting hats and handkerchiefs. All 
this was carried on with great merriment on the part of 
the young fellows, but with the greatest apparent gravity 
and seriousness on that of the ladies. I was at a loss to 
know the meaning of this strange performance, or if it had 
any meaning at all, until my own sombrero was suddenly 
snatched from my head, and placed on that of a young 
seiiorita. I was then informed that each article thus 
seized and appropriated must be redeemed by a payment 
in money to the fair one on whom it had been bestowed, 
and that half a dollar was the sum agreed on by gen- 
eral assent. In this way, considerable sums of money 
are sometimes gathered by the ladies from a company of 
liberal young men, who enjoy the sport of thus victimizing 
each other. This amusement was called up repeatedly in 



DONA MARIA. 143 

the course of the evening, and some of the young men 
paid a pretty handsome tax for the sport. I saw Dona 
Maria at one time with three hats crowded on her head, 
and at least half a dozen handkerchiefs on her shoulders. 
Besides the tax thus collected, an assessment of two dollars 
each was levied on us to pay for the music. 

Besides the singular dance I have just described we had 
cotillions and waltzes. In the first, the fat Dona Maria 
was the most graceful dancer, but in the waltzes — Dona 
Maria did not waltz — several of the girls performed very 
prettily. But foremost among them was Francisco's 
daughter, Juana, and another young lady whose name I 
did not learn, who waltzed with much ease and grace, and 
who prided themselves on tiring out, not only the other 
dancers, but even the musicians. My head grew giddy as 
I sat and saw those two girls twirling about the room. 

Supper was ready at an early hour. My friend, Fran- 
cisco, did me the unexpected honor to lead me in and seat 
me at the head of the first table. Dona Maria sat at the 
opposite extremity of the table, and the other ladies, 
numbering from sixteen to twenty, occupied the sides. 
Myself was the only male. Our supper consisted of soup, 
baked meats, boiled chickens and bread, with wine in 
glass tumblers instead of tea or coffee. "We were waited 
upon by our host, Jose, assisted by another gentleman. 
There was but little conversation among us, but we got 
along very pleasantly. I proposed a glass of wine with 
Dona Maria by signs, which she readily understood, and 
she drank her glass with much grace. Perceiving Jose to 
be rather inexpert at carving chickens, I offered my serv- 
ices, which he accepted. We afterwards drank a glass of 
wine together, and thus ended the ceremony of supper. 
The table was soon cleared and rearranged for another set 
of occupants. 



lU CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

Dancing was kept up pretty constantly, I did not join 
in it, but was for the most part a silent spectator. I 
found myself frequently, in the course of the evening, 
seated by the side of our hostess, who was disposed to 
make herself agreeable, and would, I doubt not, really 
have been so, had she understood my language, or I hers. 
As it was, I contrived to ask her a few questions, and 
found her quick to comprehend my signs. I inquired 
about her children, knowing that to be the subject, of all 
others, the most interesting to a mother. She pointed to 
those who were dancing, and to several that were seated. 
I asked her how many she had, and she held up her five 
fingers of one hand, and three of the other. " Oclio, " said 
I. "Si J Setlor, ocho," she replied with a smile, amused, per- 
haps, that I had learned one word of Spanish. 

Francisco, also, with not a little pride, directed my at- 
tention to his daughters, who were dancing so merrily; and 
I could only express my admiration of them by exclaim- 
ing, "bueno; bueno f" 

Thus pleasantly passed the evening until eleven o'clock, 
when giving my friendly entertainers a cordial shake of 
the hands, I bade them a Dios, and wended my way back 
again over the mountains to my lodgings. The com])any 
continued dancing till morning. 

I have been thus particular in giving the details of this 
party, believing that whatever is peculiar in the manners 
and customs of any peoi)le may be interesting, and perhaps, 
not wholly useless to know. And having been myself much 
interested in the amusements of the evening, I cannot 
but hope that the reader will find something to please him 
in this account of them. 



L^ 




INDIAN C0STU3IES. 145 

Indians and Their Costumes. 

EPTEMBER 23, 1856. There was a company of 
Indians encamped in the vicinity of Oroville, for the 
purj^ose of gathering their harvest of acorns, which 
grew in great abundance there. They passed my tempo- 
rary home ever}' morning, men, boys, and women, fur- 
nished with sacks made of netting, earned b}^ the men, and 
conical baskets for the women, and with a i^ole eight or 
ten feet long, with which to beat off the acorns. The pole 
had a short stick fastened to the butt end with strings, by 
means of which they suspended it to the hmb of a tree 
when they ascended the tiimk. The acorn is one of their 
most valuable articles of food, and they gather large quan- 
tities of them. 

These Indians were more scantily clad than any I had 
ever seen, many of them having only a shii-t, sometunes 
but a very ragged one; and in one instance I saw a tall 
brawny Indian, who was entirely destitute of even this 
scanty coveiing. 

One day a woman with pretty good features, the wife of 
the chief, came to our house in company "s^dtb other In- 
dians. A large portion of her face was besmeared with 
pitch, and the locks over her forehead were matted with 
the same substance. I enquired the reason of this disfig- 
urement, and was told that it was the Indian's badge of 
moui-ning, and that she had probably lost a relative. A 
few days after this call, she came again accompanied by 
her husband, the chief, who was superior in intelligence, 
as well as in rank, to his companions. He s^^oke a httle 
English. The squaw had renewed the coat of pitch, and 
looked more hideously than before. I could see, however, 
in spite of the pitch, that she was a pretty woman, and in 



146 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

spite of the scantiness of her coveiing, that she was mod- 
est. Some remarks were made by one of the compan}^ 
present, in allusion to her besmeared face. Her husband 
understood them, and explained the custom in a word or 
two. "Indian's wa}^" 'said he. "Lost httle boy," point- 
ing to his wife. We all understood him, and the eyes of 
the poor squaw moistened as she comprehended the sub- 
ject of our conversation. The Indians are not destitute of 
natui-al affection. 

Few hearts can witness unmoved the tears of a woman, 
though she be a wild and filthy Indian; and the feelings of 
this poor untutored savage were respected by our comj^any, 
who refi^ained fi'om any fui'ther aUusion to the subject that 
brought painful recollections to her mind. 

3Iarch 3, 1857. During a long walk to-day, I stopped 
to sketch some singular hills, consisting of two, and some- 
times of three, plateaus or terraces, each terrace being- 
supported by a la3^er of rock, resting on a stratum of clay, 
or soft sandstone, which, in man^^ places was worn out a 
foot or two beneath the rock, and making a distinct dark 
Hne in the landscape. 

Before sketching one of these hills, I ascended it and 
clambered up the rock, which varied from six to eight feet 
in height. Here, among some bushes, I saw a smoke aris- 
ing, and on one of the shrubs hung an Indian's cap and 
his lance. I approached the spot, and suddenl}' found 
myself in the presence of a large, fat squaw, who lay bask- 
ing in the sunshine, clad in the habiliments which natui'e 
had given her, with the addition of a very shglit substitute, 
for that leafy garment which was once the fashion at a very 
remote period in the world's history. Two little dusky 
chei-ubs sat near her, and the j^ai'tner of her joys and sor- 
rows lay on the ground at a httle distance, enjoying a 
comfortable siesta. It was a charming picture of contented 



SCENE AT A RANCHERIE. 147 

indolence, and I have seen more than one lazy white man, 
who would have coveted their enjoyment. 

I attempted to enter mto conversation with the lady, and 
asked her if she had some baskets to sell. She made no 
reply, but, with becoming modesty, though with no affec- 
tation of haste, took up her blanket that lay near her, 
and half veiled her charms from my admuing gaze. Find- 
ing her disinchned to talk, I left her, descended the hill, 
made my sketch, and continued my walk. 

March 6, 1875. With an Indian for a guide, I visited a 
fine water-fall in a sohtary place among the mountains. 
On oiu' return, my guide conducted me to a rancheiie, 
consisting of half a dozen wigwams. As we approached 
them, the dogs barked, the children screamed, the old 
women di-ew on then- blankets, and the naked gu'ls re- 
treated behind the cabins. An old man and an old woman 
sat quietly on their haunches, and a young man lay sick 
and squalid on the ground baslde a bad of embers that 
were kept ahve at his head. My guide sat down beside 
them without any ceremony, and they all preserved a 
profound silence during several minutes, as if they were 
offering u^) a silent prayer to the Great Spiiit for the re- 
covery of the invalid. At the end of this ceremony, they 
became talliative, the young man ate the remains of a lunch 
I had brought wdth me, and the old man begged two bits, 
(for these Indians, like all others, are inveterate beggars) 
when we j)roceeded on our journe}'. 





148 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

The Yosemite Fall. 

A Y 29, 1859. A rude dug-out having been brought 
up the river, I crossed over in it, and walked to 
the foot of the fall. A dense spray prevents a 
near approach to the fall, which comes down in a perpen- 
dicular descent, until within a hundred feet of the bottom, 
when it strikes a projecting rock, and dashes off in a 
shower of spray. I speak of the lower fall only, for the 
cataract is divided into three portions, the upper portion 
coming down perpendicularly; the middle portion being 
a wild rapid, in a deep, dark, and fearful canyon, in which 
the stream falls four hundred feet, and then drops down 
six hundred feet further to the base of the great wall, mak- 
ing an aggregate of more than half a mile. 

The view upward from the foot of the fall is particularly 
impressive. The middle fall of four hundred feet, is en- 
tirely hid from the sight, and such is the immense height 
of the whole, that the space occupied by this middle fall 
seems dwindled to a few feet, and the spectator can 
scarcely realize that such a fall does, indeed, exist. But 
the view of the fall from this near approach is more than 
impressive, it is sublime; and the spectator finds himself 
overwhelmed with a feeling of intense awe, as he looks up- 
ward and beholds the foaming, roaring water pouring 
down, as it were, from the very depths of heaven, 

"So wild and furious in its sparkling fall, 
Dashing its torrents down, and dazzling all ; 
Sublimely breaking from its glorious height, 
Majestic, thundering, beautiful and bright. " 

I have alluded to the influence of the wind upon the 
upper portion of the fall. It often reminds me of the writh- 
ings of an immense serpent, when two or three opposing 



THE YOSEMITE FALL. 149 

currents of air are blowing it from side to side. Some- 
times a blast of wind sways it wholly out of its accus- 
tomed course, with the exception of a few hundred feet of 
its uppermost portion, and lays bare nearly the whole sur- 
face of the rock which it covers in its undisturbed descent, 
but hiding for a minute another portion. Now large clouds 
of spray are thrown out from one side, and then from 
the other, still forever falling; now the whole fall is spread 
out to twice, or thrice, its usual width, and the next mo- 
ment, as the wind subsides, it becomes straightened and 
narrowed to its usual proportions. These continued 
changes add exceedingly to the beauty, and even grandeur 
of the fall, and one never wearies of beholding it as it 
pours, crashing and roaring, down its enormous wall of 
rock. 

" Roar, roar, thou waterfall! lift up thy voice 
Even to the clouded regions of the skies: 
Thy brightness and thy beauty may rejoice, 
Thy music oharms the ears, thy light the eyes, 
Joy-giving torrent! sweetest memory 
Eeceives a freshness, and a strength from thee. " 




^ 



The Domes. 

'HE rounded summits of many of the mountains of 
the Yosemite Valley, which gives them a dome- 
like appearance, constitutes one of its pecuHarities. 
The North and South Domes have been often described 
and painted. Situated on opposite sides of the lower Valley 
at its eastern extremity, and forming portions of its two 
great w^alls, they are not the least of its most j^rominent 
objects. Indeed, the South Dome is the highest point 
around the Valley, and rises to an altitude of nearly five 
thousand feet above the plain. 



150 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

A tremendous disiTix^tion of this mountain is apparent 
on its western face, where it has been cleft fi'om its summit, 
perpendicularly down to a depth of two thousand feet, 
and the western portion thrown off and hurled down the 
mountain, at whose base it hes in fragments, a huge heap, 
a mountain of itself. 

What a subhme, a terrifying spectacle would here have 
presented itself to a spectator standing on the North Dome 
and looking across the Valley, to behold a part of the 
mountain before him two {housand feet in depth, stai-ting 
from its foundation, breaking away from the firmer por- 
tion, and falling, roUing, grinding, crashing, down the 
mountain side, with the roar and shaking of a terrible earth- 
quake, and dashing into millions of fragments, until it 
reached the plain, three thousand feet below its startmg 
point. I can imagine what overwhelming emotions would 
seize him as he beheld the mountain falling, and in dread 
and horror thinking the end of the world was approaching, 
and that the mountam on which he stood might fall next. 

Tliis is a region of wonders. They meet us at every 
step. The VaUe}- itself is a vast aggregate of wonders. 
There was a time when it was elevated to a level with the 
walls that now surround it, when tlie Merced flowed along 
at a height of two or three thousand feet above its present 
bed, and before the Yosemite and all these falls were created. 

It is an interesting question. How came the Valley low- 
ered to its present depth ? Without a very deep investiga- 
tion of the subject^ I have formed an opinion in opposition 
to tliat of many persons, who attribute it to an earthquake ; 
that at some remote peiiod a deluge occurred here, and 
that the Valley was formed by the toiTents that swept 
through it, carrying away the earth, and leaving the bare 
walls in theii- present wild desolation, with the newly created 
cataracts pouring down their sides. 






FAREWELL TO THE YOSEMITE. 151 

Farewell to the Yosemite. 

^^ UNE 30, 1859. Early in the morning and before 
mm, breakfast, Camerer, — a German friend, — and I, 
(|^^ were on our way. As we went down the beautiful 
Valley, we often stopped to gaze at the stupendous scenes 
we were about to leave; and never before had they looked 
so grand, and glorious. Lingering, loitering, talking, and 
discussing the several points of interest, time passed rap- 
idly, and the sunbeams soon began to gild the summits of 
the mountains, the lofty rock of Tutocanula catching his 
first rays. A hundred birds strained their little throats 
and poured out their sweetest strains of melody, as if to 
bid us farewell, and cheer us on our way. 

As the scenes with which we had been so long familiar, 
now passed again in review before us; the Yosemite, 
the Sentinel, the Cathedral Rocks, Tutocanula, the Bridal 
Veil; each claimed for the hundredth, and last time, our 
attention and admiration. "O," exclaimed my German 
fiiend, when the necessity of hastening our journey oc- 
curred to us, "O, it is very hard to get out of this Valley." 

We at length arrived at the end of the plain, and began 
to ascend the mountain. Half way up the height we 
came to a spot from which we had so fine a view, that we 
resolved to stop and sketch it. This was a general view 
of the Valley, and its surrounding walls, and of course, it 
was my last sketch. Having accomplished this task, we 
hastened forward, scarcely looking around us, until we 
reached an elevation whence we were about to take our 
last look. But we had loitered too long by the way, and 
had little time to spare. Stopping, therefore, but for a 
minute, and filled with emotions such as Adam and Eve 
may be supposed to have felt when. 



152 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

*' They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, 
Through Eden took their solitary way, " 

we cast one sad look at the scene behind us, and bade a 
sorrowful and final adieu to the wonderful Yosemite 
Valley. ^ , 




The California Vulture. 

,EBRUARY 9, 1854 In a Avalk some days since 
through the Redwoods, I encountered an old man 
by the side of the road engaged in making shin- 
gles. He was a very coarse -looking fellow with a dark 
complexion and a black, bush}" beard, that more than half 
covered his face, giving an additional grimness to his rough, 
harsh features. He was an old Kentucky rifleman, and, as 
I learned to-day, a first-rate marksman. He had shot a 
Vulture some time before, and it was- lying near his cabin, 
half decayed. Some quills were scattered over the ground, 
and I picked up two or three of them, when he ordered me 
in the rudest manner to leave them. I then offered to buy 
some of them, but he would neither sell nor give them 
away. He wanted them for himself. 

While I stood there another man joined us, and asked 
the name of the bu'd. *'A Turkey Buzzard," said the old 
man. I disputed him, and endeavored to point out th( 
difference between this bird and the Turkey Buzzard. Bu 
he Avould not be convinced. He had seen thousands o: 
them in Kentucky, though he admitted they were smallei 
there than here. I replied that he might with equal pro- 
priety say that a Raven was a large Crow, or a Crow 
large Blackbird. But he did not admit the analogy of the 
two cases, and the bird was a Turkey Buzzard and nothing 
more. So I leftliim in the enjoyment of his own opinion 



THE KENTUCKIAN. 153 

To-day I passed his cabin again, and he accosted me 
with considerable civility. A sort of giim smile played 
over his harsh features, his manners were wonderfully soft- 
ened, and the gruft' old savage seemed to have been sud- 
denly transformed into a half civilized being. He had shot 
two Vultures yesterday, though one of them, which he had 
only -^ing-tipped, and tied to a stake, had escaped. He 
was T\dlhng to sell me the remaining bii-d, and the payment 
of five bits made me its owner. 

On further conversation with him, I found that he pos- 
sessed a taste for birds and other natural cuiiosities, and 
had some preparations for presei-^ing specimens. He 
showed me some bii'ds and a horned toad which he had 
preserved. 

I skinned my bii'd, and left it with the Kentuckian, while 
I continued my walk. But this walk furnished me with 
nothing fm'ther to record except a word or two concerning 
the habits of these same Vultures. I saw six or eight of 
them perched on trees, sitting in perfect idleness and 
scarcely moving. I believe Audubon saj^s that they are 
ver}' shy and difficult to approach. But Audubon had 
never seen one. A man was cutting up a fallen tree near 
one of the bii'ds, but without disturbing him. Another 
one sat on a branch of a low tree, which I approached. 
When I arrived ^\dthin less than gunshot distance, he half 
spread his wings and stood up, as if prepaiing to fly. But 
after a minute's hesitation he folded his pinions again, and 
seemed to have come to the conclusion that there was no 
danger from a man -srith only a stick in his hand. As I 
continued to aj^proach the tree on which he stood, he 
thi'ust his head down below his body, and turned it about 
most whimsically, while he ke^^t his keen eye fastened on 
me as though he were quizzmg me ; but still he showed no 
disposition to fl}'. I now began to shout at him, and to 



154 CALIFORNIA SCENES. 

swing my caj), and i' faith, it seemed as if m}- noise and 
gesticulations served ratlier to amuse than to fiighten him. 
Then I threw my cane up in the air towards him, but he 
only gave his head an extra cant, and continued peeling at 
me with such an impudent, derisive, no-ye-don't sort of a 
look, that I almost expected to see him raise his thumb to 
his nose, and shake his fingers at me. Finding him thus 
firmly resolved not to be diiven fi*om his position, I left 
him, full}' believing that if a man wishes to hunt Cahfornia 
Vultures, their shjNTiess will be no obstacle to his success. 
On retui-ning, I called for the skin of my bird which 
measui'ed nine feet four inches fi'om tip to tip of the wings, 
and three feet eleven inches in length. 




My Skill at Rifle Shooting. 

ARCH 29, 1854. I went out to try my skill at 
rifle shooting. Saw a pair of Vultures in a tree 
on the heights in front of my house. I clam 
bered up the hill and ajDproached within a short distance 
of the birds, but the trunk of the tree, on the branches o: 
which they stood, hid them from my view, and I made 
short circuit, and crept behind a tree that brought mi 
still nearer the Vultures. I now had one of them in i 
view, and was in a fair way to have him in my possessio: 
I cocked my rifle for the fatal shot, brought it up to m; 
face, and closed my left optic, preparatory to the death-de 
ing aim, when the foolish bird, as if he were actuated by 
spirit of reckless daring, bravado and defiance, sidled ou 
on the branch that held him, stood erect with his breai 
square before me, half expanded his broad wings, while h 



CAMP-MEETING. 155 

cast a glance of his keen eyes upon me, and seemed to say, 
" Here is your mark ; now try your skill. " I did so. The 
report of my rifle reverberatedover the hills; the ball sped 
— I knew not whither — and the birds left their perch with 
a precipitancy, and flew away with a haste I have seldom 
witnessed. The smoke of the powder had scarcely 
cleared away ere they were seen performing their gyra- 
tions over a neighboring mountain. I made my way 
speedily down the hill, and sold my rifle. 



Incident at a Camp-Meeting. 

M ACCEPTED an invitation from a friend to attend a 
Methodist camp-meeting, which was held in a grove 
about five miles distant from the Contra Costa Red- 
woods. The services did not vary much from similar ser- 
vices in New England. But a little incident occurred of 
such a novel character, and so singularly beautiful, that I 
record it for the benefit of Christians in other portions of 
the country. "When the collection was about to be taken, 
the Presiding Elder, the Eev. Mr. Fulton, addressed the 
audience in these words: "At the last Presbyterian camp- 
meeting, the collection taken for the support of the minis- 
try was, most unexpectedly to me, divided between all of 
us who had taken part in the services; and I was con- 
strained to share it equally with my Presbyterian brethren. 
Such an act, the first of the kind I have ever known, was 
as gratifying as it was unexpected; and most happy am I 
to say, that we have this day an opportunity to reciprocate 
the favor, by sharing with the brother of that denomina- 
tion now present, the collection to which we invite you to 
contribute." 



156 CALIFORNIA SCENES. n 

The effect of this address \v^on the audience was mani- 
fested by the jingHng of the coin which was poured into 
the hats from every quarter of the field. 

"With this little anecdote I take leave of the reader, re- 
marking, however, that I passed nine years in California; 
resided in many of its principal cities; roamed Over a large 
part of the northern portion of the State; visited most of the 
mines from Mariposa to Yreka; traveled across the State 
of Oregon and into Washington Territory; sailed up the 
Columbia River to the Cascades; visited a great number 
of places remarkable for their scenery; spent five weeks in 
the wonderful Yosemite Valley; lodged in a hollow of one 
of the "Big Trees" of Mariposa; listened to the mighty 
roar of the Geysers; walked round the beautiful Clear 
Lake, and paddled my canoe round the far-famed Lake 
Tahoe; clambered up the sides, and stood upon the high- 
est pinnacles of Mount Shasta, and many other mountains 
of the Sierra Nevada range; and encountered people of 
all descriptions, characters, and nationalities. Reader, 
shall I give you a further account of my observations and 
adventures? 



I 



THE END. 



:.d .Sli^>:^^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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